


Suffering, But Still Alive

by Tea_Drinking_Sweater_Wearing_Physicist



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Gonna make a comic for this soon, I'll edit this later :3, M/M, Might be a weird part in chap 38 ;-;, Other, Spelling errors are frequent, Warning...just kidding XD, Welcome one and all to Hell!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-09
Updated: 2017-04-26
Packaged: 2018-08-07 19:04:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 40
Words: 82,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7726207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tea_Drinking_Sweater_Wearing_Physicist/pseuds/Tea_Drinking_Sweater_Wearing_Physicist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tanz is subjected to other AUs after his own was quickly destroyed by Error Sans.<br/>Or was it?</p><p>Please note that I am very sorry for mistaking SF Sans and Pap for Jasper and Suave of the Vampire Multiverse. ;-; Part two will be looked over before anything is posted to avoid major editing issues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue....

In the previous year, X-Tale was completely erased from existence thanks to Error Sans. Cross, the only survivor that managed to live through the immense attack, was taken from the void like space, and brought to Ink!Tale to live out the rest of his days unless of course, he'd decide to leave, or there was a way to bring back his old life.

Ink Sans was happy to allow him to stay, as long as he agreed not to cause any trouble.

However, ERROR Sans was quite annoyed by Cross's survival. He thought that he'd wiped out all evidence, but no. Something just had to go wrong. Cross just had to survive.

ERROR didn't go to the Inter Dimensional Meetings that Ink held. It was something that occurred once a month, or when there was an emergency. All of the Sans's from every AU gathered in a discrete room located in the main Universe, Undertale. Not every Sans went. Some skipped out, and went other times, or didn't go at all to only receive threats from the leader himself, Ink.

One time, Ink brought Cross along to a meeting. The other Sans's looked at him funny and kept their conversations quiet, but over time, they all warmed up to him thanks to Blueberry. He was normally the first to greet newcomers and talk others into speaking with them as well. Luckily, no one was hurt, and everyone got along. Some would say that Cross brought all of the Sans's closer, but others would argue and come up with some other silly excuse. Though deep down they all knew that Cross's existence meant something. Maybe there was still hope for a better future. That there was a way to take ERROR Sans down once and for all. But that was only the beginning.


	2. Tears Shed to News Spread

Papers floated around the room in a spectacular display of colour. Each had their own marking to symbolise which Universe they represented. The room seemed endless, but the papers remained to circle the centre. In the middle of all of the papers, sat Ink Sans. Pencil in hand, he stared down at the blank piece of paper lying in his lap.

Suddenly, there was a soft sobbing noise coming from a paper above him. Ink set his things aside on the Doodlesphere floor and stood to examine the paper. It was wet with fresh tears. He didn't recognise it's symbol at all. Was it a new Universe laid undiscovered? How long had it been there?

He suddenly felt a strong sense of determination build up within him. He needed to get Cross.

Ink pulled his paintbrush from his back and swiped it across the ground next to him. Still grasping it, he leapt through the puddle and out to stand before Cross. "Cross!" He jolted up and looked to Ink.

"Sheesh Inky, you really scared me there-"

"This is an emergency."

Cross walked over to Ink with a serious expression. This was the first time that he'd been needed for something important. Ink grabbed Cross's arm and pulled him through the portal on the ground. This time ending up in a grayish-blue space. It was completely empty except for a figure that sat slumped in the distance.

They cautiously approached the person. They wore grey shorts with a white stripe along the bottom. Along with that was a pair of light blue boots with three purple clasps, and a white hoodie with purple and blue splatted across the hood. They seemed to be sobbing while holding something to their chest. It had a similar pattern to it, only it was purple and green. Ink got closer and crouched before the person.

He looked up at the taller skeleton from the ground. Standing, the person wrapped the scarf around his neck, to look past Ink at Cross. He looked a little suspicious of the new skeleton.

"Excuse me," Ink interrupted the silence. The new skeleton looked at him with a look of seriousness. "I'm Ink...this is Cross." With that, Cross walked forward a bit but kept his distance.

The new skeleton spoke with a steady voice, despite still crying and after just sobbing. "I'm Tanz..."

Ink smiled a bit. "We're here to help...I understand that your Universe was just destroyed? And we'd like to help you through this. We can help you bring it back and take down the culprit." Cross was shocked. Ink just said that he'd bring back Tanz's Universe...so he could bring them back. Then how come he didn't bring his back?

"Cross?" He looked back at the short skeleton, in which he glared back. "Could you take Tanz back to Inktale? Fill him in on things and such. I'm going to stay here and investigate what happened." Cross nodded a little and walked up to Tanz. They were in the same boat. Their Universes were destroyed by ERROR, and they were both filled with confusion and loss.

Ink walked off, leaving Cross and Tanz alone.

They stayed silent for a while, both trying to process what they had just been through.

"So...you're name's Tanz?" Cross didn't know what to say exactly. Tanz just nodded and let out a shaky sigh. "Well, I should get you to Inktale then. After all, that's what I was told to do."

They teleported out of that blank Universe, and to the very, un-blank one, named Inktale. Everyone must've left for that art fest Ink was talking about with Cross the previous day because there wasn't a soul in sight. "Follow me." Cross led Tanz to the front of Ink Sans and Papyrus's house. It was pretty creative, to say the least. The walls were painted with a unique style that could only be recognised as Ink Sans's. Tanz looked around curiously but never left his spot by the door.

"Come on..." Tanz looked at Cross and obeyed as they headed upstairs to Ink's room. They sat on the bed awkwardly. "So...Tanz...mind talking about what happened?" He made eye contact with him for one second. And that's all it took for Cross to understand. "Hey..." He scooted closer to Tanz and put his hand on his. A grape coloured blush spread across Cross's cheekbones as he looked down at the floor. Now wasn't really the time to be hitting on someone.

"I get it. My Universe was erased by the same jerk. Everything-everyone...gone. Right in front of me. He's a real sicko, isn't he? Taking away everything you know and leaving you to have to live through it all. All the pain, suffering. I bet that sick bastard gets amused from it."

Tanz finally got a good look at Cross. He did seem like he'd been through a lot. But...was it true? That there are others like him that had their lives torn away from them? "Sorry...I...didn't know..."

Cross smiled a bit. "It's fine. We both come from some bad history. Me and you...we understand each other." Tanz took his hand away and put it in his lap with his other hand. "Been through the same pain...sort of..."

They sat in silence.

And it only got more silent when they couldn't hear a thing.

Their minds clouded with past memories of death and destruction. Before then, there was peace, and everything was normal. Until ERROR came along and took it all away. Though they had no idea who ERROR Sans was, Ink had explained to Cross that he was the man behind all of the deaths.

Cross believed him, but since then...there weren't many people to trust.

"Can I tell you something?" Cross looked at Tanz, but not in the eyes. He nodded in response in which Cross let out a dreadful sigh.

Tanz could see the growing rage in Cross's eyes, though he still looked relaxed. "All this time, since my Universe was destroyed last year, Ink said that there was no way to restore my Universe. I don't know why he said that he could save your's..." Tanz sat up in shock. Ink lied to him. He'd only trusted him because there was no one else...who knew the truth?

"Cross?" A light violet coloured blush dusted his left cheek while a light blue coated the right. "I don't think we should talk about it to him yet. We should wait to see what happens..."

Cross sighed in response. "So...I guess we can share this room?...Ink had said in the past that if more people ended up here after accidents that happened to people like us, that he's let them share this room and he'd take the living room couch..." Tanz's blush only worsened at the thought of sleeping with this stranger. "Sorry if that's weird...but um. Hey, I don't take up much room with my 4 ft body." They both laughed. Tanz yawned from exhaustion. He'd been through too much that day.

Too many deaths.

Too many tears

Too much to take in all at once.

He needed rest. Time to think and overcome the day's events. He crawled to the other side of the bed and slipped his boots off. They landed on the carpeted floor with a light thud. Tanz lifted the blanket and slipped underneath to curl up on his left side and let his eyes fall shut.

Cross glanced over at Tanz. He'd fall into a deep sleep shortly, and he might not mind if Cross got changed. He got out of bed and walked over to the closet to take his clothes off. Once he was done he went back over to the bed wearing his shorts and a white tank top. He tucked the golden heart necklace under his shirt and shifted under the covers into a comfortable position. He was a foot away from Tanz. Just thinking about it sent a shiver down Cross's spine.

He's just another guy. Nothing else. You don't act this when you sleep with Ink. He looked at Tanz's eyelids. Suddenly they opened and they looked each other in the eye. Both felt a surge of electricity rattle their bones.

They both looked away from one another immediately. What was that? Tanz thought as he pulled his hood down.

Cross knew that Tanz felt it too. At least he knew he wasn't crazy. That was so surreal though...nothing could compare to the feeling that wracked their bodies and took hold on their souls. Maybe they were soul-mates? He pushed the thought out of his head and looked back at Tanz.

WHY IS HE STILL LOOKING AT ME?

"I uh-" Tanz was cut short when Cross shifted closer to him, and kissed him on the cheek, then shot back over to his side of the bed. He faced away from Tanz and curled up into a ball.

Tanz blushed uncontrollably. He'd never been kissed before. Especially by a guy. Was he gay now? Or was he always? He wanted to turn away from Cross but found himself scooting closer to him. He was so alone. They both were. Maybe what they both needed was some...no.

Cross felt weight next to him a few minutes just after turning away. What is this guy thinking? Suddenly arms wrapped around him.

Tanz pushed his face into Cross's back and sighed. Maybe this wouldn't be weird. It would be a close friend or brotherly relationship. Maybe they could forget the kiss and move on from it. After a long period of time, he fell asleep against the smaller skeleton. Cross smiled a bit and melted into Tanz's form. It was actually more comfortable sleeping with him than with Ink. Ink would always push Cross away or only let Cross lay two feet from him. Nothing more. Just that. Just friends.

___________________________________________________________

Ink searched all over Tearztale. There was nothing.

Why Error? Why another one? No one's ever done anything to you. Especially not this... 

He heard soft footsteps approaching him.

Ink turned around to spot Nightmare and Dream walking towards him with Frisk bringing up the rear.

"Ink! There you are!" Dream ran over, leaving the other two to try and catch up. "I heard about what happened...that Tearztale was destroyed..."

Ink nodded and cast a glance at the other two. Nightmare looked uncomfortable, and Frisk looked agitated. "What brings all of you?"

Nightmare Stepped forward and held a small scroll forward. "Someone in a glitchy, black cloak dropped this off in Dreamtale." Ink took the scroll and rolled it out. It was a short letter stating that Dreamtale was next on the list. Frisk stayed silent and watched as Ink crunched the paper in his hand and threw it on the ground. He looked at the others, hate in his eyes as they changed. "We can't let ERROR get away with this."

"But he's unbeatable!" Dream looked into Ink's eyes. Come on Ink. You and I both know that he's always on the move. We'll never find him and take him down. He's gonna wipe this whole Galegon out! 

Ink didn't even look at Dream. "Get out of here." Nightmare and Dream teleported away leaving Ink and Frisk alone. "I know you know something." Ink looked to Frisk to see that she was startled to the point of jumping. He walked over to her. "Take me to the Timelines."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! This took a lot of time to create and I hope that you liked it! Feel free to come up with theories as to what's next, and who is the true destroyer of worlds.


	3. In Order to Lie, You Need to Tell the Truth

"I watched that universe get destroyed Ink! All I could do is stand by and watch as ERROR killed everyone. Destroyed everything !" She paced the room as Ink could just stand there and look down at the Timeline in his hands. He was a heartless killer who didn't care who he hurt...he needed to be stopped.

"Frisk...is ERROR's Timeline here?" He asked calmly as he tried to ignore how affected she was by this. Finding ERROR was the most important right then. Frisk stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Ink. Her eyes suddenly lit up.

"Yes. Yes, it is! Oh my gosh this is gonna solve all of our problems!" With that, she zoomed away down an aisle.

The room in which held the Timelines was almost like a huge library. Each one was organised by their AU, route, etc. Ink always found the place to be a little unsettling. It held everyone's personal experiences. Secrets. He waited patiently for Frisk to return with...whatever it was she was retrieving. ERROR's Timeline, was it? Curse my short memory span. 

 

"Got it!" Frisk ran over to Ink with a dark, glitchy Timeline. "Here it is! ERROR's Timeline." She held it out to Ink, in which he gladly traded it for the other Timeline in his hands. He looked down at it and hunted through its contents. There he was.

\------------------------

ERROR Sans sat in the Void on the cold, dark floor. He looked down at it.

That's me. A cold dark floor. 

He brushed a hand against its cold surface.

I'm cold. And dark. And evil. I don't care. I won't care. Who would care? 

A tear streamed down his cheekbone. He wiped it away with the back of his hand and sniffled.

No. I'm a good person. I'm doing a good thing. Yeah. I'm not bad...I'm not broken. I won't break. I'm invincible. 

ERROR couldn't hold it back anymore. The dam was broken, and the tears flooded out of his eyes, down his face, and through the dense space to the cold floor. He sobbed there. 

Shaking.

Shivering.

A wreck.

A heartless, cruel killer.

\------------------------

Ink looked to Frisk. "How do I get there?"

Frisk looked at Ink. "...you've always known how to get there..." She took the Timeline from Ink's hands and looked him in the eyes.

He pulled his brush, Arcencial, from his back and gave one final look at Frisk. "If anything goes south, and I don't return...tell everyone that I'm sorry..." Frisk nodded with tears in her eyes.

She loved Ink like a brother. They were there for each other when needed. Though they rarely ever spent time with one another, Frisk grew onto him.

Ink smiled reassuringly and painted on the ground in from of him, and hopped in.

Good luck Ink...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I look forward to reading your reviews and getting advice. Love you guys!


	4. Bottling up to Lash Out

Ink took slow steps over to where ERROR sat. Should he bother him? Or talk with him? Crying and broken he may be, but that is no reason to be destroying my creations. 

"ERROR!"

He jerked up to a standing position and flew around to face his enemy. "Ink..." The tears stopped. The pain stopped. This was it. This pain was gonna be over. Everything was gonna end...he'd been waiting for that moment for so long...

Ink walked closer to ERROR.

He wasn't heartless. ERROR was one of his creations too. No matter the crimes committed, he would still protect. Though he hadn't been doing too good recently.

"ERROR...I'm...sorry-"

"JUST END ME."

Ink flinched at his words. He'd been pushed too far. Every moment was spent alone in a desolate location. Far away from everyone and everything.

"I DONT'T W-W-WANT YOUR MERCY." He clenched his fists and summoned two Gaster Blasters behind himself.

"ERROR. We don't have to fight. We can talk!"

Glitched laughing. Of course, he found this amusing. He was sick-no...demented and twisted. Mentally ill.

"NO TURNING BACK-ACK N-NOW INK."

He made a motion with his hand, and with that, the Gaster Blasters fired. ERROR smirked sinisterly.

Ink dodged the attacks but didn't move fast enough. His arm was cut by the blast. Luckily there wasn't too much damage...he could always repaint it later-

"HEY INK-INK." ERROR walked over to Ink Sans and offered a hand.

Ink didn't know what to expect. Maybe this was the end of the battle. Maybe this simple gesture would finish the forever feud. He reached out and took the hand. ERROR's grin widened as he made another motion with his other hand. Another blast fired, sending Ink flying across the blazing floor of the Void. His body was wracked with pain as his back scraped against it. Finally, the movement stopped, allowing Ink to catch his breath.

He spat onto the ground next to him.

Blood.

It was blood.

So this is how I die? Protecting my creations...hopefully, they can fight for each other now that I won't be there for them... 

ERROR let out a wave of laughter. His voice echoing around the Void.

"Hey ERROR!" A medium height skeleton in a black cloak yelled from the distance.

"SHIT." ERROR immediately made a portal and left through it.

Death ran over to Ink's side.

He blinked slowly up at the figure looming above. He smiled a bit. Maybe he would live. Maybe there was still a chance at beating ERROR and helping his Universes. Then everything went black...

Death lifted Ink's body up into his arms and left the Void in a cloud of black smoke. He went to Inktale and dropped Ink off onto the living room couch.

Ink Frisk walked over and looked down at Ink. His Hp was falling...and falling fast. She knelt down beside him and pulled out her chalk to heal his wounds. She looked up at Death.

"Thank you."

He gave a respectful nod and disappeared in yet another cloud of smoke.

\--------------

Tanz shot up, gasping pants flying from his mouth.

Dead.

Everyone.

Everything.

Dead.

Nothing left but him.

Cross sat up and rubbed his eyes sleepily. He looked over to Tanz and saw his scared expression. He looked into his only lit eye. That grey blue iris with small white triangles dancing around the pupil. Cross put an arm around him.

"It's okay...it was just a nightmare..."

Tanz's breathing began to steady and he looked down at Cross.

"Thank you..." He placed a small kiss on Cross's forehead and hugged him close.

Cross blushed and wrapped his arms around Tanz. The last time he'd hugged somebody was when Blueberry was saying goodbye to him at a Sans meeting.

A knock sounded on the door.

Cross wriggled out of Tanz's hold and pushed himself out of bed. He walked over to the bedroom door and opened it.

There stood Ink Frisk. "Heya..." She smiled a bit, but she looked like she'd just been crying over something. Perhaps it was nothing. Maybe she just missed Ink. He had been gone all day so it seemed.

"Hey, Frisk...what's up?" He wanted to hide in his clothes, but he'd taken them off. Now all he wore was thin and too small to cover much.

She kicked at the ground with her shoe. "Ink's back..."

Cross smiled a little. "That's good-"

"He came back hurt..."

Everyone went dead silent. Tanz sat on the bed listening intently. Listening for any vital information. Anything that could help him. Lead him to the theory that Ink lied to Cross. Or lied to him.

Cross blinked up at her. "Is...he alright?"

"He is now. I healed him up. He's asleep on the couch. I just thought you should know..."

Cross nodded. "Thanks for telling me. Sleep well, okay?"

She nodded and walked down the hall to her room.

And Ink Papyrus hasn't returned home I presume? 

Cross shut the door quietly and walked back over to the bed. He sat down and got under the covers.

Tanz looked down at him. "So, Ink got into a fight?"

Cross yawned. "Yeah."

Tanz nodded and got back under the covers. This time he was gonna keep his distance from Cross. He might be giving off bad vibes causing the nightmares.

He still couldn't stop thinking about who Ink lied to though. Could he really bring back Tanz's Universe and lied to Cross? Or did he lie to Tanz and Cross was told the truth? Maybe Tanz's Universe was easier to bring back. Maybe it depended...but it was too much to think about. Tanz felt tired again and knew that staying up and overthinking was only going to worsen the situation.

Finally, he could get some normal sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eeek! This is a lot to write, but you know you love it. Lol. Hope ya like my writin!


	5. Old Wounds Broken Open

Ink awoke to find that he was lying on the living room couch.

When did I get home?...where's ERROR? 

He sat up and rubbed his skull. It throbbed with the pain of an ongoing headache.

If only Dream were here...he'd be able to make me some tea to help with this, and be the comforting friend he was... 

As if able to read Ink's thoughts, Dream appeared beside him on the couch. "Hey Ink...I heard about what happened...Frisk told me..." He placed a hand on Ink's lap. "You okay?"

Ink shook his head. "No...I mean, all that's really bothering me at the moment is this headache..."

Dream nodded and went to the kitchen. He grabbed a pot and boiled some water. As he poured it into the mug he'd grabbed, the steam lifted up into the air in delicate swirls. He put the pot down and pulled a small packet from a pouch on his belt. He emptied it out into the mug and stirred it with a spoon, then walked back into the living room.

Ink sat up straight after smelling something sweet. It smelled so good he could almost taste it. When Dream walked over he immediately took the cup and mumbled a rushed thank you as he downed all of the mug's contents. It was so sweet, like freshly made caramel. It wasn't thick and gooey though. Just smooth and rich. Thin and flavorful.

He smiled once done and set the mug down on the coffee table in front of the couch. Finally. Just as he theorised, the headache was gone.

"Wow Ink. Your mouth doesn't even burn after that? You didn't even cool it down first..." He stared at Ink in shock that he was able to guzzle down something more than 100° Fahrenheit.

Ink just laughed a little and smiled at Dream. "Thank you, Dream...for everything."

"Oh please, I didn't do a-"

Ink wrapped his arms around Dream a tight hug. "You do a lot for me...thank you."

Dream smiled into Ink's shoulder. "Ink..."

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Ink Papyrus crossed his arms. He stood at the base of the stairs with a smug look on his face.

Ink shot away from Dream and stood on the other side of the table. "It's not like that Gel! We're just good friends." He clenched his hands into fists and blushed furiously.

Ink Papyrus chuckled at the sight of his flustered brother. "I'm just teasing Ink. No need to get all hot and bothered."

Dream looked over and smiled. "Hey Ink Papyrus!" He got up and looked at the two of them. "Well, I've done my business, bye!" With that, he teleported away with the snap of his fingers and yellow stars.

Ink let out a sigh of relief and walked over to his brother dubbed Gel. "Don't do that!"

Gel looked down at him. "Alright, alright..."

"What are you doing down here anyway?"

"I just wanted to ask who was in your room."

Ink raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Ink Papyrus lowered his gaze. "Because I heard some moaning coming from it."

\-----------------

Cross threw his pillow at Tanz. "YOU TOUCHED MY BUTT. THAT'S CROSSING THE LINE."

Tanz caught the pillow and charged at him. He threw the pillow down before landing on Cross.

"Oof!"

He was smashed beneath Tanz's weight.

"Come on Tanz! I'm tiny and you weigh a skele-ton!" He struggled to move under Tanz and moaned from the pain in his bones. "Taaaaanz."

Tanz laughed. It was funny to see that someone so determined could be defeated so easily. "You want me off?"

Cross moaned again. "Yeeeeees. Pleeeeaaase. You're gonna kill meeee."

They laughed. Tanz from amusement, and Cross out of sheer pain.

Ink Sans threw the door open and looked down at the scene. "...what am I looking at exactly?"

Tanz got off of Cross and looked at Ink.

Cross panted and gasped for air as he rolled over onto his back. "Thank...Stars...I'm saved..."

Ink looked to Tanz, then back at Cross. "What was going on in here?"

Cross shot up and looked at Ink. "TANZ TOUCHED MY BUTT IN BED. THE HE SAT ON ME."

"FOR THE LAST TIME IT WAS ACCIDENT AND I SAID I WAS SORRY." Tanz glared at Cross.

Ink walked into the room and closed the door. "Do I really have to babysit you guys?" He picked Cross up and set him on the bed. "Tanz. Bed. Now."

Tanz grunted, picked up the pillow, and jumped into bed.

"Apparently you two can't behave, so I'm gonna have to stay in here with you." He slid the paint belt off and onto the floor. He slowly slid off most of his clothes, leaving just his brown shirt and shorts.

Tanz and Cross could only stare in awe as they ran their eyes up and down Ink's body. The creative and one of a kind markings all along his bones.

Ink pulled off his brown fingerless gloves and set them on top of his pile of clothes, then walked over to the bed.

It was too much for Tanz and Cross to handle. They blushed insanely and laid down in bed.

Under the blanket.

With Ink Sans.

Cross sighed and turned away from Ink. "Dammit Ink. Why?"

Ink looked at Cross. "You and Tanz decided this fate. You decided to horse around, and now you're gonna be treated like children."

Tanz grunted and laid on his side, facing away from Ink Sans.

This guy is so annoying. It was Cross's fault. Not mine. I simply accidentally brushed my hand across his ass. I didn't even mean to do it! It wasn't intentional at all. 

Ink smiled a little. They think it's weird with me laying in bed with them. Ha! 

Cross shifted a bit and mumbled. "I hate you. Both of you."

Ink laughed a little. "Hate you guys too."

Tanz stayed silent and hid in his hoodie under the warm blanket.

Cross turned to face Ink. "I mean it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this wasn't too weird or silly. Still love you guys! Thanks for the kudos, and more thanks to the hits!


	6. I'll Take That

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's gonna have some death. And some descriptive death at that. So be warned!!! This so your last chance!
> 
> •If you read it last night or earlier today, I just changed the ending so please re-read it!

Frisk sat in the Timeline room in the middle of it all. She was looking at ERROR's Timeline. Looking for dents in his past that could've affected him. Made him the way he was...

But she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings.

ERROR leapt into her, knocking her down to the cold linoleum flooring.

"F-F-F-FRISK..." He smiled down at her.

"ERROR. Of course, you'd come here!"

He laughed. "YOU SHOULD'VE BEEN PAYING ATTENTION, CHILD."

She spat up at him.

This only fueled his anger. "HAND IT OVER BEFORE I RIP IT FROM YOU."

He was referring to his Timeline. Of course, he wanted it. He didn't want to be found. He wanted to take AUs down by surprise without being spotted or stopped.

"Never!" Frisk bit down on ERROR Sans's arm.

He let out a scream of pain and slapped her with all of his strength.

Tears filled her eyes. Blood pooled in her mouth. Should she have let it out, she might as well had been finished off. She could feel some teeth floating in the blood. Did he really hit her that hard? Her Hp went from 20 to 3 in just a few seconds.

This was it. Her final moments were to be spent trying to protect the only way of surveying ERROR.

Outertale Frisk rushed over and threw ERROR off of Frisk. "Not today my star corrupter!"

"Outer Frisk! What are you doing here?"

She helped Frisk to her feet and looked to ERROR Sans. "Why I'm here doesn't matter. What does is why he's here." She walked over to ERROR and put a galactic knife to his neck. "Now tell me, why are you here ?"

"AND W-W-WHY WOULD I T-T-TELL YOU?" He glared up at her.

"Because. If you don't..."

Just before she could reply, ERROR pushed the knife forward, and into Outertale Frisk's neck.

Her eyes widened in fear. She felt lighter. Weightless even...a scarlet blood dripped from her neck and onto ERROR's chest, staining his hoodie.

She couldn't move.

Just stay there.

Paralyzed.

ERROR smirked up at her. "SWEET DREAMS." He mumbled to her.

Like she was paying attention.

She smiled as all of her happy memories flashed before her eyes. Everything that made her life exciting, and memorable.

Her smile twitched as her heart stopped beating. Everything was dark and deadly silent. She could've sworn she heard someone screaming for her before. Maybe it was nothing.

ERROR shoved the body off of himself and stood.

"You monster!" Blood spilt from her mouth as she screamed. It ran down her face with teeth floating down with it. Frisk charged at ERROR but was stopped as something pulled her back. Some one was stopping her. She looked back as she struggled to break free of the hands on her arms.

It was Outertale Chara. Why was she there? Why was Outertale even getting involved in this?

She stopped struggling and began to cry. It was useless, to say the least. To try and fight against something you knew you were going to lose to.

Then, of course, Outertale Sans arrived. And he was ready for a fight. With three Gaster Blasters at the ready, he looked to ERROR. "You're not gonna get away with this, ERROR Sans." He practically spat the name. It was like venom spewing out like an insult.

"GET AWAY WITH-ITH WHAT?"

"Killing my family!" The Gaster Blasters fired, but it was no use. ERROR blocked it with a pixelized shield.

"YOUR FAMILY-FAMILY DIDN'T DESERVE A PLACE-ACE IN THIS WORLD-D-D-D ANYWAY." He threw his knife straight at Outer Sans.

He looked down at his chest.

His jacket was already drenched in blood.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. He fell to his knees as his Gaster Blasters faded away. He looked back at his friends, Frisk...and Outertale Chara...and whispered to them.

"I ' M S O R R Y."

Outer Chara held back her tears as she looked to Frisk. "Promise me you'll stay put?" Despite her efforts to hold back her tears, her voice still shook. Though she wanted to help and protect the ones she cared for, she nodded. This was her fight too. She won't be able to beat him on her own, but she needs the satisfaction that she avenged her family and friends. 

She walked to Error with clenched fists. "You monster !" She walked right up to him, and he stood his ground.

"You murderer !" She pulled a glittering dagger from her belt that shone like the starry night sky. Outer Chara continued to walk up to him.

ERROR smiled at her. "FOOLISH...YOU'RE-OU-RE JUST LIKE YOUR FRIENDS-ENDS." He looked around the room. "WHAT A TERRIBLE P-P-PLACE TO FIGHT. WITH ALL OF THESE VITAL CHUNKS OF OUR-R-R-R GALEGON SURROUNDING US-US." He looked to Frisk's hands for a moment. She wasn't gonna let go of that. Unless...

"You deserve what I'm about to give y-" ERROR lifted Outertale Chara with his strings and brought out her soul.

"NOOO!" She screamed. And just as she did, he squeezed the strings tight around her soul, making it pop. Just like a balloon. She faded instantaneously.

ERROR grinned at Frisk.

She was the only one left. There was no one there but her, and she's been witness to all who've died. Her Hp fell to one and she felt like passing out. Everything blurred into a mass of colours. She put a hand to her head. So now I'm affected? W-why? She wanted to laugh and cry all at once.

"LOOK, K-KID..." ERROR walked over to her and reached for her other hand that gripped his Timeline.

She backed up and hit a shelf. "N-no...I won't end like...this...I won't die that easily..." She smiled and looked at him through her head spun.

"ERROR!" Ink leapt out of his paint and in landed behind ERROR Sans. "Back away!" He held his paintbrush with a deadlock grip at his side and gritted his teeth.

ERROR looked back and gave a cold smile. "THERE'S MY P-P-PRETTY INKY BOY-OY." He turned all the way around and took a few steps forward. There they stood. Enemies for life. Laid broken and twisted by their own fear and hatred. "THE GIRL'S-S-S MINE." He looked back at her and lowered his voice. "AND SO IS THE T-TIMELINE-LINE." Ink flinched a little and walked over to ERROR.

"Can't we talk about-"

"YOU'VE GROWN-OWN SO SOFT, INK."

Ink's pupils shrunk in size and changed. He was speechless...he remembered.

They both remembered.

They just refused to acknowledge it.

\--------------------------------

But ERROR wasn't allowing the flashback...

\--------------------------------

"SO...IT HAS COME TO THIS..." They made eye contact.

Frisk slumped back. This is it. The end...finally... 

"WE'RE STANDING H-ERE-ERE...ABOUT TO FIGHT...FINISH THE WAR THAT-AT YOU STARTED."

"ERROR!" Ink rushed forward and hugged him close. "I'm so sorry, for everything! It was all my fault! I get it-and I'm sorry!" He screamed into his shoulder as tears spilt from his eye sockets.

ERROR glitched out as a reboot bar appeared above his head and there was a series of computer noises coming from him.

Ink wrapped him in his own strings and threw him through his portal back to Inktale. Once he was trapped in an anti-void with Terror, corrupt Nightmare, keeping watch, Ink returned to the Timeline room to retrieve Frisk.

She was lying on the ground next to the shelf. Her Hp down to 0.5. Ink rushed to her side and heard some shuffling behind him. He looked back at them.

"Go home. I'll take care of her. You go home and rest." Dream walked over and placed a hand on Ink's shoulder. He looked up at Dream and smiled.

"Thank you so much." He stood and hugged Dream quickly and ran back to his puddle of paint on the ground and hopped through.

Maybe now I can take a break. Tomorrow I'll check in on Frisk and ERROR. Then I'll see what I can do with Tanz and Cross...maybe I'll be able to relax with my family sometime... 

\-----------------------

ERROR awoke in a dark space wrapped in his own string.

"Now you're awake..." Terror smirked and walked over to ERROR Sans. "I'm gonna leave you here, so...bye." He disappeared, leaving ERROR alone in the anti-void.

IDIOTS. THEY'RE ALL IDIOTS. 

He disposed of his string and rose from the ground.

NOW'S MY CHANCE. 

He formed a portal in the air next to him and went through to the Timeline room.

Chara sat on the ground holding ERROR's Timeline. Dammit, Frisk...just grow up so I can live my life without having to fill in for you... 

ERROR snuck over and gazed upon her.

"I'LL T-T-TAKE THAT." He ripped the Timeline from her hands and smiled evilly.

"Hey!" Chara leapt to her feet and lurched forward to try and catch ERROR. But it was too late.

ERROR leapt through his portal and sat in his room on the other side.

"GOOD LUCK FINDING ME, INKY-Y BOY."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also so sorry about not updating sooner! School's coming up in three days, and I'm on a tight schedule. Hope this didn't give ya'll nightmares or some shit. Lol. Sorry. Stay tuned for more death, and depressing moments.  
> I now wanna give a great thanks to all of you gorgeous people out there who've read this (shitty) fanfic! Thanks you all so much!


	7. Stressed Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wazzup everybody!!! So sorry for not updating sooner! This chapter is taking forever to type. Another thing is that school started, so updates might take at most 2 weeks, but hopefully on he weekends I should have something up. As always, enjoy my crap, and...yeah. :)

Ink was walking with Frisk, Cross, Tanz, and Dream.

They were heading to the Timeline room after being called by Chara that something had happened.

They strolled to the centre of the room to find Chara pacing and biting a fingernail.

Frisk walked up first.

"Heya Chara...what's all the commotion about-"

"He got it."

Everyone went still.

"ERROR got the Timeline. It's all my fault. I'm so sorry." She collapsed into Frisk's embrace. She was a bawling, irresponsible mess. She'd failed everyone.

Frisk pet Chara's hair and attempted to comfort her. Though she was enraged that Chara let ERROR get away, at least her sister was okay...

Ink looked to Dream, Tanz and Cross. "We need to schedule a meeting. Now."

\------------------

"EVERYBODY CALM DOWN!" Ink stood at the end of a large table where every Sans from every AU sat. All but ERROR Sans.

The people went quiet and looked to Ink.

He sighed. "Look, there's been a lot going on lately, and there's been concerns and rumours all over our Galegon, but now is not the time to become paranoid and lose hope." He looked around at everyone. "We need a plan. We need everyone on high alert for any signs of disappearances and suspicious activity."

Outertale Gaster strolled through like he'd been there before, and he was allowed in.

"What are you-"

"I'd like to report some deaths..."

Everyone sat straight and looked to Outer Gaster for answers.

"The Frisk, Sans, and Chara from my Universe...are no more."

People talked in hushed whispers.

Ink's eyes changed as he blinked. "Thank you..."

Outer Gaster nodded his respects and left the room without another word.

Nightmare looked to Cross and Tanz.

They're planning something. And it's not good. 

He looked to Dream.

He was playing with a small marble on the table. He looked down in the dumps.

"We need to protect each other. Protect our loved ones. Protect our Universes. Protect our Galegon. Our hopes. Our dreams. Our lives. Our positivity. We need to rise against this evil that has tried to break us all apart again and again. Who's with me?!" Ink looked around the table with determination.

Everyone rose and cheered. All but Tanz and Cross, who'd left during the speech unnoticed.

\--------------------

"I don't want him to hurt himself anymore..." Cross sighed and looked up and over at Tanz.

He nodded. "I get it. You two are close friends......."

They walked down the hallway in silence for a moment, and it only stopped when Tanz threw Cross into the closest wall and pinned him there. He breathed heavily as he looked up at Tanz.

"Look, over time I've grown to know a lot about you, but I'm gonna say this now..."

Cross listened intently as he waited for Tanz to continue.

"So if you're going to go out to do something stupid and reckless, I'm going with you." He looked down at Cross with a serious expression.

"What is going on here?" Ink stood a few feet away, looking from Tanz to Cross, then back again.

Cross sweated nervously as he pushed Tanz away lightly and looked to Ink. "Nothing..."

Ink shook his head and sighed.

What am I going to do with you two... 

"Okay, well, it doesn't matter what you were doing anyway...we're gonna head home now..." He walked over to them and gave a half smile. He didn't mean it, he just wanted to seem happy so that no one would bother him.

"Okay." Cross walked forward and waited with Ink for a response from Tanz.

He sighed and walked over to the other two.

"Let's go..."

\--------------------------

He sat in his bedroom alone. Cross and Tanz were being goofballs elsewhere in the house or outside. He couldn't tell. It didn't matter anyway. Everything was gonna go, so why not enjoy it while it lasts...

He looked down at the small Valentine's Day letter that he'd had for decades. It was from his closest friend, ERROR.

He still remembers how serious he was that day...how he got down on one knee and held the letter out like a ring for their marriage.

Everything was happy back then...so what had changed?...

\-------------------------

It was the day of Valentine's, and ERROR was thrilled when he got the idea to make something, even if it's small, for his love, Ink Sans. 

Although they were mostly just really close friends, he'd always sorta loved him. Maybe like a brother, maybe like a boyfriend, he couldn't really tell. He just knew that he loved him with all his heart. 

He took a few deep breaths before finally gathering enough courage to call up his best friend. But would he? 

He shook his head and focused. It was the time he tried to teleport. He'd never done it before, and if it proved successful, then maybe he could impress Ink. 

He smiled, then focused all of his energy in moving from his spot in his Universe, to Ink Sans who was...well...somewhere. 

It'd worked! It felt kinda weird and tingly, but it worked! He smiled at Ink as he looked up from the ground. He, didn't look happy to see him...was something wrong? 

"Ink! Happy Valentine's Day..." And with that, he knelt down and held out a handmade card, made by ERROR, made for Ink. 

That's when he smiled. That beautiful white toothed grin...he took the card happily and hugged it to his chest, then opened it up. 

ERROR was kind of worried that Ink wouldn't accept. He'd written on the card, but he'd written his heart onto it. If Ink didn't like what he read, he didn't have to see ERROR ever again. If his heart was stolen by another, ERROR would take care of that. And if Ink felt the same way about him, and loved him with all his heart too, then they would be the happiest of people. 

Ink read over the card, and an apologetic smile crept over his face. He put it into his satchel and walked over to ERROR. He stood proudly, as he was certain Ink was going to accept, but then, something else happened. Something that made ERROR's soul fill to the brim with red hot rage. 

"ERROR, you're very sweet but...there's someone else in my heart already..." He tried to smile at those words. Tried to be happy for his love. Who was this other? 

ERROR looked into Ink's eyes as his vision became blurred with tears of hate. "Who is it?..." He said with an uneven voice. Ink looked at ERROR in shock. 

"ERROR it's-" 

"Tell me who it is." 

Ink could only stare at ERROR as he thought of what to say. Would it be the truth, or would it be a lie? 

"ERROR...I'm in love with Dream..." 

There... there were the words ERROR was looking for. So his heart'd been stolen by the little dream maker...well...he wasn't gonna let anything get in the way of Ink and himself. Nothing would separate them... ever. 

\------------------------

Ink continued to look down at the card.

Maybe if he'd said something else, things wouldn't be the way they had turned out to be.

He sighed as he tried to hold back tears.

This is too much. I can't take much more of this.... 

He wanted to cry, but he didn't. He didn't in fear of losing himself. He curled up into a ball under his blanket and hugged the card close to his chest.

Why do I bother giving it any thought? Why live life like this? So separate. So distant....so different from the past... 

Cross knocked on Ink's door twice and waited. There was no response for a whole minute. He became worried, so he opened the door and walked in closing the door behind him.

"Ink?"

His voice sounded so distant. Maybe Ink was losing his hearing.

Cross walked over to the bed and sat next to him. He rested a hand on Ink's arm and looked down at him. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Ink stayed silent as Cross petted him. "Cross...it's just stress-"

" Just stress ?!" He sighed and ripped the blanket away from him to look at his friend's face. Rainbow tears spilt from his eyes.

"C-Cross...."

Cross sighed and brought Ink up to a sitting position, then hugged him close.

"You need to talk...so talk..." He said into his chest.

Ink looked down at him and smiled a little. He's too sweet. After all, he's been through he still helps others as if he didn't matter... 

"Alright...just for you, and don't tell anybody what I tell you...maybe Tanz...it depends..."

Cross nodded and looked up at Ink as he stopped hugging him. "Why are you crying?"

Ink's eyes widened and he attempted to wipe the tears off his face, and away from his eyes as soon as quickly as he could.

"You wouldn't understand Cross..."

Cross raised an eyebrow and got closer to Ink's face. " Then make me understand. "

Ink blushed and looked down at his hands which were being gripped tightly by the smaller skeleton. He looked up a little to make contact with him and sighed. "ERROR and myself used to be good friends...he wanted to be with me...and I turned him down for somebody else...somebody that didn't feel the way I felt. I didn't know until I confessed. But they understood. We're still friends, but ERROR...ERROR hadn't moved on. He still felt the need to take me."

Cross nodded for Ink to continue, and stopped gripping his hands so tightly.

"He tried to kill Dream."

"Wait..." Ink blinked at Cross as the black and white skeleton spoke. "You and Dream Sans?" He sighed and smiled a bit.

"That's not why we're talking...sort of..."

Cross looked into Ink's dazzling eyes. They're uniqueness highly intriguing.

Ink stopped smiling as he remembered where he'd left off. "I was just around the corner when he attempted it, so I knew something was off. I ran over as quickly as I could and pushed ERROR out of the way. I thought we were friends, but he...he wasn't right. He still isn't. He still loves me, but I could never love him again. Not after that. His jealousy...and the way he looked me in the eyes that day...he's hurt because of me, and I can't ever undo that..."

Cross hugged Ink. "You might not be able to tape a broken heart back together, but you can at least talk to him again. Try to heal the wounds closed slowly..."

Ink stayed silent as he wrapped his arms around Cross's small form.

"Do it for everyone...he wants us all dead, but you...you're all he wants...now he may know only Destroy, but teach him the reason to fight. Fight for your loved ones, not against them..."

Ink smiled a little as tears trickled from his eyes and down his face to Cross's shoulder. "But no one knows where to find him."

Cross shook his head.

"Then I'll find him. For the sake of the Galegon..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thabks everyone for the Kudos, and the hits! I am so happy right now! Eeeeee!!! XD The next chapter's gonna get some more death, and I'm so sorry if I make ou cry if you're attached to some characters. But hey, you're not the only sad one. I'm the one writing this stuff. ;-; And some are my babies. ~^~ Sorry.


	8. I'll Take That Too

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, sorry for taking forever. Second, sorry about this being a short chapter.
> 
> Thank you all so much for the 100 hits!!! I am so happy! Yay!

Cross didn't sleep that night in worry that Ink would burst awake from a nightmare. Themselves and Tanz had yet again shared the bed and the air within the room.

He sat up and looked over at the taller, older, resting skeletons, and slipped out of bed quietly. He landed on the carpet with a soft thud and snuck across the room to the door. The door opened, and out into the hall went Cross.

Luckily, Tanz and Ink stayed asleep. Usually, they would wake at any sudden movement, but this time they must've been in deep sleep.

Inktale Papyrus was already downstairs and making some bagels up for everyone.

"Morning." Cross walked into the kitchen and examined the plate of bagels, then looked at Gel.

He looked down at him and smiled. "Morning." He took out a plate and put a bagel on it, then handed it to Cross. "Thanks." He smiled tiredly up at the tall skeleton.

He really didn't like being around Papyrus's. It wasn't that they were bad, it was just hard for Cross to have to strain his neck up at them whenever needed to talk. He didn't hate it though. It was what it was, and it always will be.

Cross stepped over to the kitchen table and took a seat. At least he could reach that. He set his plate down, and just as he was about to take a bite, he heard Tanz and Ink come down from upstairs.

"So you can with his help?" Tanz got downstairs first.

"Yes, but that's only if he agrees." They both looked to Cross for a moment, then went into the kitchen to get their bagel.

They all say at the table. Ink, Gel, Cross, and Tanz. Ink Chara must've left a while ago to get set up for a huge art sale in the West Wing of the Universe. And Ink Frisk must've gone with to help.

They ate in silence for a while until Ink broke the silence. "Cross," him and Tanz looked at him. "Tanz and I have been talking...and we've decided to try something. But we need your cooperation..."

Cross chewed his bagel thoughtfully, then swallowed. "Okay." He looked at Tanz and Ink, wondering what it was that he had just gotten himself into.

\-----------------------

Dream and Nightmare walked around the fields of Dreamtale. Enjoying the peaceful quiet it brought to them.

The clouds were large and puffy. They were white and grey swirls scattered across the sky. Red, orange, pink, purple, and blue painted the space above.

The weather was beautiful. Spring had just begun, which meant inspiring scenery for all who visited.

"Dream?" Nightmare stopped walking and peered at a pixelized portal off to the side of the trail they walked.

"Yes, broth-" Dream stopped and froze as he recognised the portal. "Nightmare, we have to go! Now!" He grabbed him by the arm and yanked him away from the portal just as he was grabbed and pulled through himself.

"Dream!"

\-----------------------

ERROR looked at his screen as he watched Cross comfort his love.

Great. Now I have to deal with him too. 

A red warning sign appeared on the screen and he smiled.

There's the little dream maker. 

He quickly ripped open a portal near Dream and Nightmare and waited. The older one noticed, and got the other's attention.

Dream ripped Nightmare away from the portal, and ERROR reached a hand through and dragged Dream through. Once both were inside he smiled at Nightmare, then closed the portal.

"S-S-SO MY LITTLE-ITTLE DREAM MAKER-MAKER..." He smirked down at his fallen opponent.

Dream rubbed his head and looked up at him in shock and total fear.

"THAT'S A GOOD BOY-OY. LOOK AT-T ME WHEN I-I-I ADDRESS-ESS YOU."

Help...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for bearing with me on this! you guys have been great and I love you all for the Kudos and the hits! It makes me so happy to see my first posted fanfic going so well. Thank you all!!! X3


	9. Oh Hello Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep naming the chapters after what ERROR's doing.
> 
> Sorry.;-;

"So," Cross said walking into the living room as he wiped his hands on his pants after cleaning up. "What is it?"

Ink blinked, causing his eyes to change for the hundredth time that day. "Uh, what's what?" He looked at Cross, then at Tanz.

Tanz swore under his breath and looked at Ink. "Our Universes?"

"Oh right." Ink smiled at his silliness and looked at Cross. "We need your help to go back in time."

The room went silent. Cross just stared at Ink and Tanz for a moment then burst out into a fit of laughter. "Ha! Wow, nice one guys! I thought you were being serious for a second. Any idiot would know that time travel is fake."

Ink and Tanz both looked at each other, then back at Cross.

"Only idiots listen to that. It's real. And you have the ability to do it." Ink sighed and looked down. "Unless of course, you don't want your Universes back..."

Tanz got up and went straight to Cross. "Please? For us?"

Ink looked over at the couple. Called it. 

Cross sighed and looked up at Tanz with a grape for a face. "Alright...just for you..." He blushed more and gave a look to Ink, signalling for him not to say a word to a soul or him and his Universe would be erased forever.

Ink got up and smiled as he walked over to the other skeletons. "Cross, just remember that you have time. And a lot of it."

Cross nodded and looked up at Tanz and Ink.

I'll do it for you...anything for you... 

\----------------------

Ink walked into Dreamtale like he did every Monday morning. "Hey, Nightmare!" He smiled and waved at the young skeleton, but he suddenly stopped.

Isn't it supposed to be spring? It feels like winter... 

Ink shivered and undid his hoodie that was tied around his waist to slide it on. He walked over to Nightmare who appeared to have fallen asleep against an oak tree.

You poor thing...what happened? And where's your brother? 

He took off the hoodie just as he had put it on, or so it felt and wrapped Nightmare in it instead.

Ink walked over to his and Dream's house as he carried Nightmare inside using the spare key Dream had given him.

After laying Nightmare down on the couch and surrounding him in warm fluffy blankets, Ink sat down next to him and thought.

Okay, Ink. Think. What could've happened? Well, a lot could have happened. Dream is usually waiting for me because he knows the routine. But today, he wasn't...what if... 

Ink looked down and over at Nightmare who was now sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He yawned. "Hey Ink..."

Ink smiled a little.

"Wait-Ink!" He launched forward and hugged him. "You can help!"

"Help? With what?"

Nightmare laughed a little, although Ink could feel the cold tears soaking into his clothes.

"I need your help getting Dream back. Please...ERROR...he took him..."

A white hot surge of hate and anger washed over him.

I should've known. 

"P-please!

Ink worked his way out of Nightmare's arms and held him up by the arms so he wouldn't collapse against him after just moving. "Hey, it's alright we'll get him back..." Ink wiped a finger across Nightmare's cheek to wipe a tear away.

"R-really?" Nightmare looked up at Ink.

"Yes..."

Ink let go of him as he stood from the couch and headed to the door. "You'll be alright here alone?"

He nodded.

Ink wore a determined smile as he opened the door and stepped outside. He walked over to the tree at a quick pace but slowed as he got closer.

"INK..." ERROR smiled as he looked over at the tree with his hands in his pockets. He pushed himself off of it and strolled over until they were four feet apart. "L-LONG TIME NO S-SEE..." He grinned.

"ERROR...where's Dream?" He balled his hands into fists at his sides as his anger only grew.

"TSK, TSK-K...DREAM SANS IS IT-T?" He laughed. "NOW WHY WOULD-OULD I EVER-R-R GIVE HIM BACK?"

"Because he has nothing to do with this!" Ink screamed. Tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

ERROR just shook his head. "TSK TSK INK. YOU SHOULD'VE KNOWN-N BETTER BACK TH-THEN. BUT NO...YOU FALL FOR SOME LITTLE LIIIAaaaarrr?" Warm blue blood flowed from his chest.

"I'm sorry..." Terror pulled the giant knife out of ERROR's chest and smiled as he fell to the ground. "Really I am." He walked over to Ink as he wiped the blood off the knife.

Ink just stared at him. "Are you crazy ?!" He gestured to the knife. "Did you take that?"

Terror looked up from the blade and at Ink. "Cross let me borrow it in exchange for...something...or rather, someone..."

ERROR's body disappeared behind Terror.

Ink raised an eyebrow. "He wanted him?"

"No, but I needed him away from you in order for my plan to work."

Ink stepped closer to Terror and lowered his voice. "I don't care about your dumb plan, I just need Dream back here. Do that and I won't kill you right here, right now."

"Ink? Terror? What's going on?" Nightmare ran outside and over to the other two.

"Well, that's my cue to leave."

Ink looked at Nightmare. "Ugh. What is it?"

Nightmare stopped and looked up at Ink worriedly. "Is Dream coming back? Is he okay?"

Ink sighed and looked to the house. Dream stood at his bedroom window.

"Go check for yourself." He smiled.

\----------------------

"I need you to come with..." Cross begged, looking up at Tanz.

Tanz sighed and looked down at the skele. "Oh, alright. But only because I don't want to lose the only person who actually gets me..."

Cross jumped up and down with sparkly eyes and took Tanz by the shirt, and pulled him quickly for a kiss. But of course, there's an interruption.

"Ahem..."

They both turned and looked over at Inktale Papyrus, who was standing there.

How long has he been there?! Cross pushed Tanz away. "Just...threatening him is all..." He wiped pretend dust off of himself and stood back.

"A huh...well, I won't stop you." Then he walked off.

Cross looked over to Tanz. "Oh, uh...hehe. Sorry..." He blushed and hid his face in his scarf.

Tanz uncrossed his arms and wiped the glare off his face to replace that mask with a new one. He wore a smile as he walked over to Cross and hugged him. "It's okay..."

Cross looked up with hope and determination. "Really?"

"Yeah. Now let's go."

\----------------------

Death sat in the Void with Gaster, Terror, and Vlare.

Terror smiled as he knocked one of Death's chess pieces off the board, sending it rolling to Gaster's feet.

Vlare paced impatiently before them as they waited for the late arrivals.

"Hey, guys!" ERROR Asriel walked over from a dark pixelized portal.

The short full bodied Gaster Blaster stormed over to him. She jumped into the air and did two 360s before slapping him across the face and landing on the ground safely. "I told you to be early." She huffed.

ERROR Asriel rubbed the side of his face that made contact with Vlare's hand. "For me, this is early. Earlier than when I usually show up at least."

"Whatever," she looked at everyone and sighed. "Everyone get over here."

Gaster, Terror, ERROR Asriel, and Death walked over to Vlare and looked down at her.

"Are we missing anyone?" Terror looked around at each face and smiled a little as he realised who was missing. He wasn't normally late though...

"Shit. Where is he?" Vlare looked around the group, behind the group. But she would go no further. "You know what, I don't have time to search the whole Void for some dumb skeleton.

"Hey!" Death chimed in.

"Oh, his first word after me beating him in chess." Terror smirked.

ERROR Sans walked over from a dark section of the Void, and over to the group.

"He's here." ERROR Asriel crossed his arms and looked down at Vlare.

"Okay, now that we're all here...we need to find a better way to kill Tanz and Cross." Vlare looked up at everybody from the ground.

"And Ink." Death added.

Everybody shot looks to him.

"What? It'd be nice to see him creating a better place for dead people instead of my own fuckin home." Death shot glares back at them.

"We could get them together in one place." Terror poked ERROR's face with a tentacle.

ERROR grimaced and shoved it away "But then they'd be together and able to take us down."

"Huh. You're right. Also, what happened to your voice? You know? It's not...glitchy like before..." ERROR Asriel looked at him. In fact, everybody looked at him waiting for a response.

He stayed silent and looked around the group.

"I don't wanna talk about it, okay?"

"Oh," Terror smiled. "He doesn't wanna talk about it because he's embarrassed that he got killed by me."

Death laughed with ERROR Asriel.

Vlare snapped her fingers. And looked at everyone.

Gaster cleared his throat. "This is a war if you didn't know. We need to be serious. We need to kill our targets together, unlike last time. Stay together, and stick to the plan."

Everyone nodded.

"I could always just pull our victims out of me." Terror shrugged.

Vlare let out a grunt as she adjusted her small cloak. "Shut up ya walkin' portal."

\----------------------

Tanz and Cross walked through the Void quietly. Both of them were tired from their journey, and about to give up.

"Cross, if we haven't found them already, we should just give up and go home. What if something finds us? And kills us?" Tanz looked around sadly.

They'd been walking around aimlessly for almost three hours, and with no sight of ERROR Sans.

"We'll find him..." Cross reassured Tanz. But he mostly said it to himself because he was about to lose his sanity.

Suddenly, they stopped walking. Voices echoed to them from ahead.

Cross walked forward.

"H-hey!" Tanz whispered. He quickly went after him. Both obviously had no idea who they were going to face. But it had to be more than one person.

"I'll talk to you all tonight then." Vlare teleported away, leaving Gaster and ERROR Sans alone in their small section of the Void.

"See you ERROR."

He was alone.

Or so he thought.


	10. Let's Dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is gonna be GREAT. Hahahah. *Cries* No it isn't. Okay. This chapter consists of a flashback, death, and of course...dancing.
> 
> "Tanz in German means Dance."
> 
> No he isn't a replacement of Dancetale Sans. It just so happens to be that Tanz does dance.
> 
> This fanfic is gonna by so good! XD X3

"Cross...Tanz..." ERROR nodded to both and smiled. "Good to see you..."

 

"Yeah right. You know why we're here." Tanz growled taking a step forward.

Cross pulled him back by his arm and shook his head.

"Oh, yes. I know why you're here," he looked at both of them. "You're here to get revenge, right? Take my life so you can feel like you avenged them?"

Cross pushed Tanz farther away. "No. I'm fighting for us."

"What are you doing?" Tanz pulled Cross to face him.

"Stay put, okay? I can handle this." Cross slipped out of Tanz's grip and walked to ERROR. He looked down as five red knives appeared and formed into one, large knife. "Let's get this over with..."

ERROR smiled more. "Okay." He pulled out his ERROR knife and let strings fall down behind him slowly. But that wasn't all...six ERROR Gaster Blasters were also behind him.

"Get out of here..." Cross said without looking back.

Please... 

Tanz took a few steps back and put up a blue and purple shield. He couldn't leave him. They both meant a lot to each other. If one went down, the other wouldn't just forget...they would fight for each other till the end.

"Let's go, tiny." ERROR smirked at the joke. There was no denying that Cross was small.

Cross ground his teeth together. "Fine." He ran up and jumped into the air, swinging the knife behind him. The air was thick, and kind of smelly. As if that was where Death stored the corpses.

ERROR looked up and smiled as he pulled a string to his right.

Three out of the six Gaster Blasters warmed up and fired straight at Cross.

He brought it forward and blocked the blasts as he safely landed on the ground.

When he brought the knife back up after the beams were over, there was a large crack in his knife's blade. He could see Tanz's face reflected in the knife.

Don't worry Tanz...I won't loose. I will win. For us. 

Cross held his knife with two hands to the side and looked up at ERROR.

Wasn't he just there?

"Behind you!!!" Tanz banged on the shield.

Cross leapt out of the way just as a knife shot through the air.

"Nice one tiny." ERROR smirked and moved to stand only two feet from Cross.

That's way too close. Someone's gonna get hurt. 

"Stop calling me that!" Cross Swung his knife at him but failed to hit the target.

"Over here." ERROR called from behind Cross.

"Dammit." Cross tried to turn around in time, but just as he did, a knife grazed one of his ribs. His pupils shrunk.

"Noooo!" Tanz took down the shield and reached out to Cross.

Cross looked down at the grape coloured blood that began to spread along the fabric.

Wow...that's actually kinda pretty... 

He dropped his knife to the ground.

"Well, that was easy."

Tanz sprinted over and caught Cross just before he hit the ground. "No. Please no!" He laid him down softly on the ground and looked at his wound. "Cross...no! Please don't!" He screamed out for his dying lover as tears streamed down his face.

ERROR stopped laughing and looked over.

Why...does this hurt? I wanted him dead...so what is it? 

Tanz brushed the side of Cross's face with a hand. "Cross?" He tried to smile. Was it for the best right?

"Tanz..." Cross opened an eye and looked up at Tanz. "I...love you...don't ever forget that...or me...please..." He smiled and closed his other eye.

Weightless.

That was the best way to describe it at least.

Tanz continued to cry and pulled his hand away from his face. "I'll do it for you," he whispered. "Anything for you."

\---------------------

Ink smiled as Terror walked into the room.

"Okay...I'm back now. You can go. I'll keep a closer eye on these two." He walked over to Ink and smiled a little.

"Okay. Thanks." Ink looked at Dream and Nightmare. "Bye!"

"Bye!" They called from the living room.

Ink smiled warmly, and looked to Terror. His smile faded. "Is something wrong?"

Terror looked up from the ground. "Go to the Void..."

Ink's heart skipped a beat.

Please be okay. 

\---------------------

Dream rushed over from behind ERROR and hit him on the head with his staff, knocking him to the ground, and putting him to sleep.

"What's going-" Ink's question was cut short as he looked before himself.

Tanz still sat next to Cross's lifeless body. ERROR laid on the ground passed out, and Dream stood over him.

"Ink..." Tanz looked up from Cross's body, gripping the necklace he gave him.

Ink walked over to Tanz. "I am so sorry..."

Tanz looked up at him and continued to cry. He couldn't stop the tears. They kept flowing. And flowing. A never ending stream of liquid running from his eyes.

"I'm so sorry...I should be been with you...I shouldn't have left you...it's my fault you and him were dragged into this...I should've kept a closer eye on him...I'm sorry..."

Ink sobbed in front of Tanz. They just sat there.

But nothing mattered anyway. Cross was dead, and all hope of returning the broken or destroyed Universes was lost. That's not why they cried though. They'd just lost a close friend. Everything was moving too quickly for anyone to keep track, and now...it was as if time were standing still.

Why is it that every time something has to go wrong when something was going right? Ink finally stopped after feeling a hand on his shoulder. He'd almost forgotten that Dream was still there. He smiled a little. "We should get out of here..."

Dream nodded and looked back. "Now..."

Tanz stood, picking Cross up with him. Every time so far...every time I'm happy, that happiness gets ripped away from me. He looked to Ink, and Dream...and behind Dream...he backed up a little.

"So...this is what happened..." Nightmare walked over with Terror flanking him. "Terror should've told you Ink..."

Terror looked down. His eye full of guilt. "I'm sorry...I picked the wrong side..." A tear streamed down his cheek.

"It doesn't matter," Tanz looked up from Cross's face and at everyone else. "The past is in the past. We need to move on and finish what Cross started. For him..."

Dream smiled a little. "For Cross."

"For Cross." Nightmare walked closer to the group.

"For Cross." Ink looked at his body one more time, then turned away to look back at Terror like everyone else was doing.

Terror sighed and walked over sceptically. "For...Cross."

They all looked to Cross. The way his body was limp in Tanz's arms. It must've taken a lot of courage to lift the body of your loved one like that. It would've been different had he been alive.........

\---------------------

Cross laughed. "Hey!" 

Tanz smiled as he took Cross outside of the house. They spun in circles until they stood under the full moon's bright light. He smiled down at Cross and laughed to see that he could barely keep his balance. "Maybe you need more practice?" 

"Ha, ha. You are very clever." He looked up at the star coated sky and the craters that dot the moon's surface. "Wow..." 

Tanz smiled up at the sky, then looked down at Cross. "Beautiful..." 

Cross smiled and looked at Tanz. "Hey!" They laughed, and during the distraction, Tanz took Cross's hands and danced with him. 

They danced to their music, their laughter, the whole night. Nothing could separate them, for their love was too strong....

Or was it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys aren't too sad. ;-; Sorry. Still hope you enjoyed though. 
> 
> "Don't worry, things will get better..."


	11. Let's Pretend None of That Happened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is gonna have some action, and it's gonna have some slow moments, so yeah. {I really don't know what to put here anymore XD}
> 
> HEY! If you guys know Joku...the "killer lady"...or as the creator of Dream! Sans, Nightmare! Sans and I do believe Cross! Sans...SHE FREAKIN LIKED ONE OF MY POSTS AND I'VE BEEN FLIPPING OUT SINCE FEW DAYS AGO!!!
> 
> Well, that doesn't matter...
> 
> "And now for your regularly scheduled program..."

The sun was shining...the wind was blowing in short little gusts...the grass was soft on everyone's bones...laughter flew through the air...and so did forty water balloons.

ERROR Sans sat off to the side. Watching. That's all he could do, or so he felt. It was useless to try and regain Ink's, or anyone's trust. He felt guilty. And he should.

"Hey ERROR..." Dream was the only one who had really forgiven him. But did he really? It was kinda like he had to in order to stay positive and live, but he might actually understand...or not. "You should join us." He plopped down in the grass next to him.

ERROR sighed and looked over at Dream. "I'm good..."

Dream crossed his arms and huffed. "No, you're not." He looked ahead at everyone else. Balloons flew through the air.

"You may have forgiven me...but them?...I don't deserve forgiveness...or anything along those lines..." He looked down at the bright green blades of grass. Blades...a blade like the one I destroyed...like the fire I put out with my own hands...the lives I've taken... 

"ERROR?" Ink walked over. His white T-shirt, brown shorts, and sneakers soaking wet.

ERROR looked up from the ground at Ink. "Yes?" He wanted to slap himself. What was he thinking? Were Manners gonna fix the issue?

Ink sighed.

Wait...what's behind his back?... 

A red balloon splashed and broke upon impact as it hit ERROR's skull. He jumped to his feet and looked Ink in the eyes. "Are we really going through this again?"

"Didn't you want a rematch?"

Dream smiled brightly. His eyes twinkling like little stars. He didn't know exactly what just happened in front of him, but he was glad to see ERROR rekindling his relationship with Ink.

"I thought it was settled that we were kids, and the last is in the past?" ERROR threw three balloons at Ink, with only one hitting him right in the chest.

"You never said that we grew up." Ink smiled. His eyes changed as he got hit in the back by a balloon.

ERROR and Ink looked over to see that no one was there.

Tanz rushed over with a balloon shortly after.

"Was it you?" Dream stood up and walked over to Tanz.

"Me that what?" Tanz looked at ERROR. A shiver ran down his spine.

"That threw the balloon." Dream looked around to make sure that it wasn't a joke. Turns out they were the only ones around.

Tanz lowered his gaze. "I just got over here, so there's no way that was me."

ERROR's eyes widened as a horrendous thought crossed his mind.

It's Cross's ghost. He's here to haunt me. 

Ink looked at ERROR then at Tanz. "Wait, Tanz. I thought I told you to take off the necklace?" He looked at the gold chain around his neck. What'd Tanz think? That chains are invisible and anything under clothes can't be seen?

"I can't. And I won't." Tanz's balloon popped right in his hands. He didn't even do anything.

"Run!" ERROR was about to sprint away, but Dream caught him by the hood of his hoodie.

"What's your problem?"

They all looked to him.

JUST KILL ME. "Uh...erm...nothing?..."

Tanz sighed and began to walk off. "See ya guys!"

Dream let go and murmured a quick goodbye, then ran after Tanz.

Ink shook his head and looked at ERROR.

"How about we start where we left off?"

\----------------------

Tanz sat in Ink's room on the soft, coushy mattress. The lights were off, and there was no light.

"Cross..." Tanz called into the darkness. What was he expecting? For Cross to just come back and respond?

His body wasn't there today...so maybe I'm doing this for nothing. He could be anywhere now... 

He remembered how Cross's body never turned to ashes...and he thought that maybe he was still alive. He laid his body in a flowery field in Inktale. The morning after his 'death', he went to check to find that Cross was gone.

"Tanz?" Aftertale Sans stood in the doorway.

Tanz looked over and sighed.

"What are you doing alone in here? Especially in the dark..." He hit the light switch. Nothing. And no one. Just Tanz.

"Nothing..." Tanz got off of the bed and walked over to the door. Why would he just run off though?...was he playing me the whole one so he could run off and bring his Universe back in secret? Selfish... 

Aftertale Sans got out of the way and closed the door after Tanz. "Well, we're all leaving...so..."

Tanz looked at him a little confused. Why do you suddenly care about me? Care enough to say goodbye to me? "Oh...alright."

Aftertale Sans opened his arms up for a hug, in which Tanz gladly accepted it. "See you." He smiled at him and left.

Tanz wrapped his arms around himself. Every time I'm happy...joy can never stay... He smiled as he breathed in the scents of his hoodie. The smell of Cross's body stained his clothing. The smell never leaving. At least I have something to remember him by... 

"Tanz?! You up there?!" Dream Sans came running up the stairs to see Tanz just standing there. A hand stuffed his hoodie pocket, and the other gripping the necklace around his neck. "Oh..."

Tanz looked over at Dream and tried to smile. He let go of the necklace and took his other hand out of his pocket. Dream walked over to Tanz and hugged him tightly.

"If you ever wanna talk, I'm always around..." Dream smiled into Tanz's shoulder.

Tanz nodded and breathed in Dream's sweet honey scent.

Dream laughed a little and backed up. "Well, now you know. Hehe. I'm really ticklish, so be warned." He took Tanz's hand and dragged him downstairs. ERROR sat on the couch with Ink, and Nightmare and Terror stood near the front door.

"We're gonna get going now." Terror looked at Dream.

Dream looked at Tanz. "Well, you heard what the boss said," Dream smiled a little and hugged Tanz one more time. But he'd decided that wasn't enough for his new friend. He lightly kissed him on the cheek, only Ink noticing. "Bye!" Dream skipped to the door and waved to everyone.

Ink smiled at the three on there way out. "Bye."

Terror led them outside after smiling a little at everyone else in the room.

Tanz looked at ERROR and Ink, blushing his butt off as he did.. "What was that about?"

Ink almost burst out into laughter, and instead smiled and stood. He walked over to Tanz and put a hand on his shoulder. "Dream can be a little weird at times. That's just how he is though. Hyper, annoying, crazy outgoing, but still super sweet." His eyes softened at the thought of Dream Sans.

"Ahem..." ERROR walked over to them. "Maybe some sleep would do us all some good?" He looked at Tanz and Ink.

Ink nodded. "Yeah...oh Tanz, I was gonna head over to Errortale with ERROR, so you have the room to yourself." He smiled a little. He felt like it was a forced smile. Saying that he still felt bad about what happened, that that night Tanz would sleep alone instead of the usual with himself and Cross. But he was heading out with ERROR, and Cross was dead.

Tanz just barely smiled. "Okay," he looked to Ink. "But your brother's gonna be home, right?" He asked as if he were afraid of loneliness.

Ink sighed. "Actually..." He thought for a moment. "Yeah. He is. He might just stay in his room though. If you need anything, I'm sure he'll be willing to help you." He smiled one more time before taking ERROR's hand.

ERROR sighed. "See you..." He avoided Tanz's gaze and looked to Ink. "Ready?"

Ink nodded happily.

That could've been me and Cross. Heading out to each other's Universes to hang out, and smile at one another. 

They left through one of ERROR's portals, leaving Tanz alone in the house. Well, not exactly. There was still Gel, but he was in his room, and Tanz didn't want to disturb his work or whatever it is he was always doing in there.

If he's even in there... 

Tanz sighed and headed upstairs. He went over to Gel's door and knocked. The door opened and Gel gazed down at Tanz. He smiled.

"Hey." He said looking back for a moment.

"Hi..." Tanz didn't even know why he was knocking on his door in the first place. He was just lonely.

"Can I help you?" His eyes were full and warm.

At least he isn't evil or something... Tanz still didn't know what to say. That he was the loneliest skeleton in the history of skeletons and wanted a hug from his friend's brother that he'd never actually had a conversation with.

"Come in..." Gel stepped out of the way.

Tanz shrunk a little as he stepped into Gel's room.

"Oh. My. Stars." Tanz's eyes filled to the brim with tears and he covered his mouth with his hand as he looked in the bed.

\---------------------

Ink and ERROR sat in ERROR's bed. They stayed quiet most of the time, but of course, the first to break the silence was Ink.

"How about we just get some sleep?"

"Yeah, yeah sure."

They both just looked at each other.

"I'll take the couch downstairs-"

"No!" Maybe Ink should've taken a different approach when he said that. "I mean, I will. I mean this is your room. I don't mind." Too late to change what he'd first said though. They both blushed at the mere thought of sleeping in the same bed.

"How about we both share the bed, but I'll take this side, and you take that side?" ERROR looked at the bed, then at Ink.

He nodded in return and crawled up to take his paint brush and belt off and lay them on the floor.

ERROR did the same, only without taking anything off except his hoodie. He didn't see it as an issue to wear shorts and a T-shirt, but Ink wasn't gonna notice till they woke up.

Or if he made a move?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;-; I'm sorry.
> 
> Lol. I am though.


	12. Acting Before Thinking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe another Chapter name would do us all good. Lol. Anyway, hope you enjoy my work, and keep on with all that lovely doevy kudo shot you've all been doing. XD Thanks for l the hits!

"How did you get here? How?" Tanz cuddled with Cross in Gel's bed. Kind of a dumb idea with Gel right there, and it was his bed.

 

"It was just a little cut. I only passed out cause it hurt. Oh and that journey plus the fight really took the energy out of me." Cross reassured Tanz as he hugged him close.

Gel smiled and looked at the door. "How about you two go catch up somewhere else?"

"Oh yeah, hehe. Sorry." Cross sat up and slipped out of Tanz's grip. He stood and walked over to the door.

Tanz got up and walked after Cross. "Thank you." He smiled thankfully at Gel as he left the room.

"How about we go find ERROR and yell at him?" Cross suggested as they headed outside.

"Sounds great to me," Then Tanz remembered that Ink was with him in Errortale. "We've gotta find some way to get to Errortale though."

"Need a lift?" Terror walked over to them from the shadows.

Cross smiled. "What do I owe you this time?"

"Forgiveness."

\---------------------------

Vlare watched as Ink and ERROR slept. Of course, she was watching. She wanted this. Wanted a way for Tanz and Cross to find ERROR Sans so she could be there to take them out. But then ERROR and Ink might find out. They might wake up. She shook her head and sighed. She pulled out a pocket sized monitor and opened it up to the cameras in Errortale.

There they are...~ 

\---------------------------

"Thanks again." Cross looked at Terror, then at Tanz.

"As long as I get paid in full by tonight, we won't have a problem." Terror winked at them or blinked. No one can tell with him and his one eye. He disappeared into the shadows, leaving Tanz and Cross to break in, and take their target out.

"Come on," Cross took the lead, but was quickly forced back as Tanz refused to let anything happen to Cross again. "If I lose you, I think I'd be better off dead." He looked Tanz in the eyes.

"If you go down, I can't go down with you, as much as I never want to lose you ever again. But there are others that need me. Need you. Need us, to help them bring back their Universes and recover from the past. We're all they've got." His eyes were filled with hope and pain. Of course, he still hasn't moved on. The two of them bonding and being so close made them sensitive to loss. Tanz had already been through enough pain and wasn't ready to handle anymore. In fact, he was just about ready to give up and give in to ERROR's attacks. But now he couldn't. Not with so many people counting on him. But they all mostly needed Cross. He was their ticket back into their old lives. Their old Universes.

"Fine. But...be careful." He looked up at Tanz's face. Searching for any sign of wanting to turn back. Because that's sort of what he wanted to do. He just wanted to go home to his old life. And maybe share it with someone new.

Tanz nodded in the direction of the house and sneaked toward it. He did a bunch of weird movements with his hands like sign language, in which Cross had no clue what that meant, so he just nodded along as if he understood.

They were easily able to get inside since Cross was able to pick the lock easily. They moved through the living room silently, although Ink and ERROR were probably asleep and upstairs with the door closed. It's never too late to take precautions though.

"What if we talk to him?" Cross suggested as they headed upstairs.

"Sh." Tanz snuck over to the first door he saw and opened it quietly.

There, laying in the bed were two figures. Ink and ERROR...luckily both had passed out. Cross pulled Tanz back and had him close the door.

"What?" Tanz looked down at him questionably.

"Maybe we shouldn't bother Ink?...I mean...things might get worse if he gets involved in this." He had a point and hoped that Tanz would understand and agree with him.

Tanz nodded and looked back to the bedroom door. "Freeze time."

"What?!" Cross burst out as Tanz put a hand over his mouth.

"Be quiet! They could wake up!" He whispered. "Look, try. Just focus on stopping every flow of energy except for your's and mine..." He took his hand away from Cross's face and took both of his hands. "Just try..." He repeated.

Cross sighed after deciding what he would do. "I'll try..." He started to get nervous. Stopping the flow of energy sounded like killing people by cutting off their life supply. It Cross had already agreed, and it was for them. He closed his eyes and tried to clear his thoughts. It only worked because he used to meditate a lot to keep himself calm and sane during the time he was alone in his Universe.

The temperature in the room shifted to a neutral feeling, and suddenly everything just froze. All but Tanz and Cross.

He opened his eyes and looked up at Tanz. "Did it work?"

Tanz's eyes lit up and he grinned widely. "Yes! It did!" He tried to contain his excitement, but of course, he couldn't. He wasn't used to bottling up. He leant down a little and kissed Cross in the forehead lightly, then quickly went back to the door as if what happened, didn't happen.

Cross blushed insanely and looked at Tanz. "Uh..."

"Come on. We've gotta get ERROR Sans and go." Tanz opened the door to find ERROR turned the other way to face Ink.

He must've moved when he heard Cross scream. 

They sneaked over to the bed and looked at him.

Frozen. But hopefully, he doesn't have to reboot after this. Then he might question what happened. But it didn't matter. They were about to get him. This was it. They would get their revenge.

But then the temperature shifted again. Back to its original stance.

Cross and Tanz froze as ERROR opened an eye and turned to look at them. He grimaced and grunted as the three of them teleported to the living room.

"What do you want?!" He looked at Cross. No...this isn't happening...he died. I watched him died. I killed him. 

"ERROR..." Cross growled.

"Are we really going through this again?" ERROR stood his ground as he looked to Tanz. "How about I go for you this time?"

Tanz stepped forward. "You're a real asshole, you know that?" He said quietly.

"Speak up sweetheart.~" Vlare whispered. Of course, she's still watching, and she hasn't been heard or spotted.

"Hm?" ERROR looked Tanz in the eyes.

"You fuck with people's lives and it's sick! People can't just live without their homes, their families. You ripped their-our-lives away! Now we're here, stuck, and trying to recreate the AUs you got rid of! It's all your fault that we're doing this! That was like this! We have nothing but each other now! All because of you!" Tears ran from his eyes and escaped to the floor.

"Tanz? Cross? ERROR?" Ink stood at the top of the staircase, paintbrush and all.

"Let's go..." Tanz took Cross by the arm and led them outside.

Ink looked at ERROR. He shrugged.

"Don't ask me."

"I don't have to ask because you're going I tell me...." Ink headed downstairs and stood next to ERROR. "We need to talk about what's been going and why..."

\---------------------------

"Hey, it's okay...Tanz..." Cross attempted to comfort him as they sat on the blank white ground in his old Universe X-Tale.

"I just don't understand why he would do such a thing..." He wept into Cross's embrace.

Cross closed his eyes and rested his head on Tanz's shoulder. "It'll get better...I promise..."

Tanz nodded and hugged Cross close.

But all of those feelings...all of those thoughts...they all stopped.

As if frozen in time.

"Hello, children.~"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ant believe I did it. 0-0 *Fist pumps dramatically.*


	13. The Small Bush Elf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so I've been updating more often, but don't get your hopes up though! Sorry for this being super late... ;-; School and life shit. But I have a life, and we all have lives. But hey, whenever it is I post this, that's when I post this. Anyway, THANKS FOR ALL THE HITS AND KUDOS!!! X3 Enjoy!

ERROR sat in the living room with Ink.

"We have to find them. Who knows what they could do..." Ink looked at ERROR. "Were they here to kill you?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I think so..." ERROR looked down at the floor. He couldn't help but feel guilty for what had happened. It was his fault. He'd wiped out so many AUs without consequences. Now it was about time to pay for the sins he'd performed. "Maybe they should've..."

Ink's eyes widened. "What? No. No, they won't. They'll understand. They're just blinded by hate and fear right now...I'll talk to them. But right now what matters is that we find them so we can fix this.

ERROR sighed and stood. "Let's go then."

\-------------------

"This is hopeless. We'll never find them," ERROR sighed as he and Ink continued their trek through X-Tale. The emptiness spreading onward for what felt like infinity. "Let's just give up Ink."

"Woah, woah, woah," Ink turned his head to ERROR. "I don't wanna hear that. No excuses. It's your fault we're all stuck in this. You have to pay up for your sins by helping us regain what we all lost."

"No getting my sanity back." ERROR mumbled as he kicked at the ground.

"Come on." Ink stopped walking as he turned back. ERROR's eyes lit up as he realised what he'd stumbled upon. He reached down and picked up the scarf he'd seen Tanz wearing. His brother's scarf that he had kept as a reminder of the past. A constant reminder that things would come back. That they would be better again.

Ink walked over and looked off to the side. "Cross's knife..."

It laid off to the side as if thrown there.

"Something happened..." Ink walked over to it and lifted it up. It weighed over 100 lbs. How could someone Cross's size even carry that thing around?!

"No shit." ERROR folded the scarf and put I into a bag on his back. He walked over to Ink and examined the knife. His multi coloured fingers brushing against the crack within its blade. His reflection. Oh, his reflection. How it displayed such guilt, anger, and sadness. He was sick.

"ERROR?" Ink put the knife on his back with his brush.

ERROR turned to face Ink and nodded. "We have to fix this."

\-------------------

Dream watched as ERROR and Ink walked up to Asriel out in the woods. His breath coming in quiet little puffs. His face lightly coloured yellow. He'd been watching them for a while and was thankful for not being noticed.

At least Terror thinks I'm asleep in bed...he would kill if he found that I'm doing this... 

He poked his head out from behind the bush and narrowed his eyes to see in the dim moonlight as it bounced off of the three figures before him.

They talked in hushed voices.

"Talk to Frisk. She'll help you like she always does." Asriel spat.

Ink and ERROR looked at each other.

"Asriel, we'll do that, but-"

Asriel shot Ink a look that dared him to keep talking.

Ink nodded and took ERROR in the direction of Dream.

Asriel walked away, and Dream was struggling to find a good hiding place.

He ducked down behind the bush and looked around in fear. He couldn't find anywhere to hide. He was going to get caught. He was going to have to explain.

"Dream?" ERROR stopped Ink from walking onward as he looked over behind the bush, and down at the small figure that lay there.

Dream gasped and flew to his feet.

Crap! 

"H-hey E-ERROR...Ink...heh heh." He waved nervously at the pair. But they weren't falling for his innocent act.

"What are you doing here in Undertale?" Ink stepped forward and looked down at him.

"U-um-"

"Isn't it obvious? He's been stalking us!" ERROR growled.

"Guys...we can talk about this later, but Dream? I think you can help us find Tanz and Cross..."

Dream nodded and looked at them. "No need to get to Frisk then...I think I know where they might be..."


	14. Prison Courtyard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for updating so late last time. I'll try to do it within at most a week, but ya know. Life exists. Thanks for all the hits and kudos! Enjoy this next chapter!
> 
> Wow. I can't believe im so close to getting 200 hits! Thanks guys! You mean a lot to me!

Cold air blew in from around the icy metal bars. The sound of breathing echoed throughout the cell. Tanz opened his eyes and blinked around the room. It wasn't exactly a room though. More like a jail cell.

Skull pounding, he turned to look at the body slumped up against him. "Cross?" He murmured, his voice coming out hoarse and crackly.

Cross shifted slightly at the noise. "Huh?" And his voice sounded fine? He pushed himself up and leant his sore frame against the rough wall.

"Cross," Tanz looked him in the eyes and moved so he was in front of him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." Cross pushed himself up from the ground and leant against the wall for support. "I think so...what about you?" He helped Tanz up and looked him over for any signs of injury.

"I'm good...just a headache." He reached for his brother's scarf that was usually around his neck to find that it was non-existent. His mind raced.

No, no, no, no, no. Where could it be? I was wearing it before we were attacked, how could it have disappeared? This is bad. This is really bad. I have to find it. 

He walked over to the bars of the cell and leant against them. His sweaty phalanges clenched around the icy metal. He took deep breaths, in, and out. Trying to calm himself he closed his eyes and looked down at the ground.

"Tanz?"

He could just barely hear Cross call out his name. He was too worried. Too tired. Too sick. Too exhausted. Too confused. It was all just too much.

"Tanz."

A hand rested on his shoulder and his eyes snapped open like fresh flowers in the start of spring. "Sorry..." He quickly apologised and backed up from the bars.

Cross shivered as the chill from the outside grew more intense. He walked to the cell door and tried to get a good look around from their stance.

There wasn't much to see other than a few beer cans (probably from security officers), empty cells, and the same cracked walls, ceiling, and floor.

A trickling noise came from the corner of their cell.

Tanz was the first to investigate.

Was the ceiling spilling...blood? Or was it rust? He couldn't tell. He paced the cell in worry.

Where were they?

What happened?

Why was it happening?

Who was their kidnapper?

And what happened to Ink and ERROR?

"Rise and shine girlies.~"

\-------------------

"This is it..." Dream stopped the group before a cave as black as a black hole. "Good luck..." He smiled reassuringly at them, but then went to Ink personally.

He looked down at Dream thankfully. "Thanks, Dream. This means a lot to me, to him, to everyone." He smiled.

"Ink?" He hugged him close. "Just promise me that you'll come home safe..."

It wasn't a question. He was telling Ink to come back safely. To come back in general.

ERROR held his breath. The sight of them...it made his soul ache. Why? Didn't he want Ink for himself, and Dream dead?

Ink leant down and planted a soft kiss on Dream's forehead. "I promise..." He backed up after a quick squeeze and turned to ERROR. He nodded with a newfound determination.

What the Hell did Dream do? Inject DT into him?

Dream walked over to ERROR and looked up at him. "And you...promise me that you'll return safe home too." He looked him in the eyes.

"Promise..." ERROR tried to say it in the most believable voice he could manage. It wasn't too hard to do because since he'd lied to a lot of people before, that faking a voice had become a habit.

Dream smiled a little and walked away. "Good luck!" He waved at them, then teleported away with stars falling and fading.

Stars he's cute when he does that... 

ERROR cleared his throat. "Let's go."

\----------------------

The short ERROR Gaster Blaster from the meeting with pretty much everyone evil, or more commonly known as Vlare, lead the two 'prisoners' down hallway after hallway. All the same as the last.

"Are we there yet?" Cross asked tiredly. The sleep he got didn't exactly sleep. More like being knocked out because some dick punched him in the face and kicked him in the ribs. Right. Nobody but him and Vlare knew about that.

"Almost.~" Vlare smiled as they neared what appeared to be a large outdoor cafeteria. She looked back for a moment as she tried to contain her excitement.

"What's up with her?" Tanz whispered close to Cross's head.

He shrugged and looked ahead.

The space was quite large, but it was jam packed with gangs from other cells.

"I bet some of those guys were laughing at us in our sleep." Tanz walked a little closer to Cross and Vlare, not wanting to get hurt.

"I bet some of these guys have us on their kill list." Cross took Tanz's hand, but he pulled away. He understood why he did it. They wouldn't wanna get caught like that. Especially not in a place like that.

"This way ladies.~" Vlare took them through the crowd of high-class murderers, and straight to the back where an even more menacing looking gang stood. As if they were waiting for them.

Vlare nodded at the men and led everyone who followed down more hallways. That place should've been famous for all the horror movie hallways it had.

"Hey." A medium height man looked at Cross. He pulled down his hood to reveal his insane eyes and Sans like face. He smirked at him and raised an eyebrow.

Cross rolled his eyes and looked ahead.

Out of two people he'd known with a face like that, he guessed it was either Horrortale Sans or Dusttale Sans. He always got them mixed up because they acted like brothers who'd escaped from an insane asylum who decided to work together to kill their friends and family. Okay, maybe that was a stretch, but that's how he felt about them.

"Okay, everyone here but our back stabbing bitch?" Someone said from the corner of the room.

Everyone stood in the room like most others. It was Gaster Sans, Horrortale Sans, Vlare, Cross, Tanz, Underswap Frisk, and Dusttale Sans.

"As we all know, ERROR will not be coming because he has betrayed us," Vlare pointed out. "Here are the two we've been after.~" She pushed Cross and Tanz into the centre of the room.

Everyone eyed them like Hawks hunting their prey. Their hungry eyes resting on them like it was about to turn into a feast.

"So, now what?" Gaster Sans was the only one who didn't seem too interested in the two in the middle of the room.

"What do you mean now what?" Underswap Frisk stepped forward. "We eat 'em. That's what." She grinned evilly.

"No," Vlare looked at everyone. "The plan was that we kill them, or use them as bait to get Ink Sans.~"

Horrortale Sans looked at Vlare. "I know I don't say this often, but maybe killing them would be the lesser of the two choices."

"Yeah. How about we go with the second plan but torture them before hand?" Dusttale Sans smirked at Cross and Tanz. He'd been eyeing them the whole time.

Gaster Sans nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"Then it's settled. But we do need to form a line of who goes first for this 'torture'.~"

All at once, the evils in the room rushed over to form a line behind Vlare. Turns out Dusttale Sans was first, Horrortale Sans was second, Underswap Frisk was third, and Gaster Sans was last.

"You have to stay in this room the whole time, got it?~"

Everyone nodded.

"Also, do any of you have a preference of body?~" She looked at everyone behind her.

"I'll take Tanz." Dusttale Sans was still eyeing them. Like predator, like prey. He wasn't gonna let them escape.

Horrortale Sans smiled. "I'll take Cross then."

"Then it's settled. Dust gets Tanz, Horror gets Cross, USF gets Tanz, and GS gets Cross," Vlare announced. "I'll be in my office. Have fun.~" She smiled and walked out of the room, locking it behind her.

"Shit..." Cross watched as the first two in line stepped forward to take their claim.

"I know you two aren't going down that easily without a fight, so if we have to do that first, then let's." Horror smiled as he pulled a butcher's knife from his pocket.

"Hold on," Dust stopped Horror in his tracks and looked at Cross and Tanz. "It would be rude to skip introductions, wouldn't you agree?"

Is he sparing us? Or is he procrastinating? Tanz looked at Horror and Dust.

"Oh for Pete's sake, fine ." Horror put his knife away and crossed his arms in wait.

"There..." Dust smiled at them and cleared his throat. "I'm Dusttale Sans, but you can call me Dust." He looked to Horror.

"I'm Horrortale Sans and you can call me Master-"

"Like I actually would," Cross interrupted. "You're Horror. That's it. Move on."

"Oh I see we have our fighter,~" Dust got closer and smirked. "And what's your name, pretty?~"

"Call me that one more time and you're fucking dead."

"Tsk, tsk. Fine, Cross. We didn't need you to tell us anyway."

"That one's mine, so back off." Horror snarled.

"And what about you, cutie?~" Dust closed the space between him and Tanz with a simple kiss on the cheek.

"T-Tanz." He said nervously. He'd never been kissed by a stranger.

"Fuck off!" Cross shoved Dust away.

"Oh, feisty,~" He walked back over and looked down at Cross. "Maybe we could switch?"

"No, what's done is done," Gaster Sans walked over. "Now are you guys gonna get to it? Or are you gonna hold up the line with your childish games?"

"Hmm, I suppose you're right," Dust swiped a finger across Tanz's chin. "Let's get started then.~"

\----------------------

Ink and ERROR walked up to a wall and stopped. Ink peered around it. "Looks like we're gonna have to get through there..."

"But we're gonna stand out." ERROR looked around the corner and pulled Ink back. They looked each other in the eyes for a moment.

"Then we're going to have to find a way to blend in."

\----------------------

"This is stupid." ERROR put his clothes into the bag and looked at Ink.

"No, it's smart." Ink took the bag and slung it over his shoulder.

They wore prison uniforms and painted their faces. They couldn't be caught with how they originally looked or else someone would sound the alarm.

"We could always just teleport?" ERROR yanked Ink away from the hallway.

"Yeah, but where? We need to do this on foot. It'll be easier this way," Ink brushed him off and headed back to the hallway. "Let's go."


	15. Break Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY CRAP. 207 HITS?! I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN LIVE. I'll have to make some celebratory art and link it. X3 
> 
> Thanks so much for all the hits and Kudos! I hope you're all enjoying what I write! Also if you find any spelling errors I'm super sorry! When I type on my phone I type fast so it's kind of hard to catch every mistake sometimes. I'll try to review everything for mistakes from now on. If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions, please feel free to express yourself in the comments at the end of each chapter. I really appreciate everything you do and say about my work! I really do! Thank you all for everything, and expect more soon!

"Well, that was different..." Tanz sat down on the small cot against the back wall. They were kind of thankful that Gaster Sans hadn't done much but ask questions and tried to help them. He was the one that sneaked the cot into the cell. Nobody had noticed, but Vlare did look like she saw it, although said nothing.

"Yeah..." Cross walked over and sat down next to him. They smiled to themselves.

"You thought they were gonna..."

"No!" Cross blushed insanely and turned away.

Tanz laughed.

"Hey!" Someone whispered into their cell. Their voice sounded rushed and worried. Pretty demanding too.

They got up from the cot and went over to the cell door.

"Ink? ERROR?" Cross just barely registered their features under all the paint.

"Wait, how'd you know it was us?" Ink couldn't believe it. They were disguised. There was no way Cross knew that it was them.

"Your eyes give it away," Tanz said smoothly. There was no denying their unique eye styles couldn't be recognised. They didn't think to change that...

"Told you it was pointless." ERROR crossed his arms and looked around. Maybe he should've mentioned their eyes to Ink, but then he might've had a weird way to fix that or nothing at all. Then maybe they could've had a better chance at not being caught.

Cross sighed and looked at their rescuers through the bars. "Look, can you just get us out of here?"

"No," Gaster Sans walked over, twirling a key around on his finger. "Now you can though." He twisted the key into the lock and pulled. The cell door creaked open loudly, echoing down the corridor.

"Come on, hurry." Ink motioned for Cross and Tanz to get out, and fast.

"You guys think you can drop me off at my AU?" Gaster Sans threw the key on the ground and followed ERROR as they made their way to a back exit.

"Sure." Ink ran up ahead, making the group have to jog to keep up. There weren't any guards, and there wasn't an alarm. Nobody was completely sure about this plan, but then again, nobody went against it. All they knew was that they needed to get out-

"Heeeeeey!" Someone called from a cell.

Tanz went over to it.

"Hey! Tanz, come on we gotta go!" Cross stopped and walked over.

"Heeeeeeeey." Asylum Sans hung off of the bars that separated them, from him. Sane, from insane.

"Come on!" ERROR walked quickly next to Ink, with Gaster Sans slowing down to let the other two catch up.

Tanz shook his head in apology to the crazy caged Sans and took Cross back over to the others to continue their mission.

Everyone was drenched in exhaustion by the time they reached their ticket out. The door appeared to be locked, and that's when everybody ducked. The sound of a Gaster Blaster came from behind them. The door blasted open with a heap of smoke. As much as everyone wanted to move, and get out of there. They were all curious who it was that summoned the attack. They looked around at each other dumbfounded. Even Gaster Sans was unsure. They were clueless. That was until the smoke and debris cleared to reveal Vlare, the master mind behind it all.

"Going somewhere?~"

"Yeah," Cross made to make a run for it but was stopped by Tanz's grip on his arms. "Oh come on! What's she gonna do, throw us in jail again? And if she didn't want us out, why would she break the fucking wall down?"

Tanz tried to think of something to say, but couldn't. He couldn't really think straight at all. His head was spinning, and he was seeing stars.

"Tanz?"

His hearing was echoey, and he was fading in and out of consciousness.

"Tanz!" Cross laid him down in his lap. He'd gone limp. Cross took off his scarf and wrapped it around Tanz's right arm.

The blast from Vlare was a thick beam and must've hit him as he was ducking out of the way. But she was an ERROR Gaster Blaster...which meant-

"Hey, Vlare!" ERROR wiped the paint from his face and stood to face the short criminal.

She stayed silent as he approached her. Nobody breathed, nobody moved. This was it.

"I'm waiting..." She said as she looked up at her old owner. Her old owner. Right. She was an ERROR Gaster Blaster after all. 

\-----------------

"There we go!" ERROR cheered Vlare on as she fired the most destructive beam of matter at the target. The other ERROR Gaster Blasters just sat there, jaw dropped, eyes wide. The smallest one, yet the strongest. 

"Nice one Vlare!" ERROR called out as she walked over. "I'm proud of you." He smiled down at her. 

She smiled proudly and looked up at him. "Thank you." She bowed her head, and he leant down and placed a gentle kiss on her skull.

She smiled shyly to herself and adjusted where she stood so she was next to ERROR. "Everybody line up!" 

\-----------------

"I don't want to hear it." Vlare stated coldly. She turned away and began to leave.

It was over. They were free, and finally going to be happy and at peace. Cross and Tanz could bring back Alternate Universes-WAIT.

Tanz moaned from the shift in movement as Ink lifted him from Cross's lap.

"Let's go home." He looked at everyone happily.

Things were gonna work out. Tanz would rest, and that meant everyone else could. It would be a break before they got to work on bringing propel and Universes back. Ink would be able to keep a closer eye on them with the help of an old friend, turned old foe, turned back into a friend. Dream and Nightmare could get back to work making what they do best while Terror watches them. Cross can practice time travel and resurrection while Tanz rests. Oh and Gaster Sans can go back to his AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like what I do! If it takes me a while for the next one, I'm super sorry! If not, well, okay then. Heh. If you like this work, feel free to check out my other works on my profile.
> 
> X3 (I'm not sure what else to say...lol)


	16. EXTRAS!!! (Flashbacks and Memories)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WAZZUP?! Thanks for all your support guys! I made a little something special just for the 200+ hits, and just for you guys. Enjoy some secret information in this. Heh. Some cut scenes. Muah hah hah hah haaaaah. Enjoy the special content! X3 Please keep in mind that these are flashbacks, but considering that's what this whole mini-chapter is about, I will not be italicizing any of the sections of text. Enjoy!

Terror had to run to catch up to Dream and Nightmare. They were younger, so it made sense for them to have more energy and be able to move quicker than him. Dreamtale was a very large, and open AU that consisted of many different and inspirational lands. Dream would give anyone a tour of the land, but Terror would always follow. Nobody could be trusted. Not ERROR Sans, not Death. Nobody from any dark Universe. But sometimes they would argue about that. Many AUs are split in different ways, meaning that there are all sorts of different personalities laying around. For example, Undertale or Underswap. They revolve around each other because they relate to somewhat of the same background. Undertale was the base for all of the other AUs, but that didn't mean that another AU couldn't take the lead. Soon enough, Inktale was created and there were new rules, leaderships, and places. There was so much opportunity for everyone. Though that didn't mean there weren't still problems. Errortale was hostile for years and years, just like Underfell, Horrortale, Dusttale, Flowerfell, Reapertale, and so on. There were just so many diverse Alternate Universes within the Galegon, that it was hard to keep track. Pacifist, Genocide, Neutral. No matter the case, some AUs could live in harmony, or at least live without tearing each other to shreds. Dreamtale was a strange addition to the list. Number one because not everyone's name began with Dream, and second because there were three Sans's. Dream Sans, Nightmare Sans, and Terror. Terror was technically Nightmare Sans, just weird, and gooey. Oh and especially evil. Before Terror was given his name, he had the same name as his counterpart; Nightmare Sans. Dream talked with Ink and the council about a legal name change, and it had been decided. Terror thought the name Nightmare was too passive and sweet, like a bad dream to only leave you shaken for a few moments. He wanted something that was going to haunt. Something that nobody would forget. So, he and Nightmare had decided upon the name Terror.

"Come on Terror!" Dream and Nightmare were running off again. Terror grunted and sprinted to catch up to them, but something caught his eye.

"Terror, let's go!" They kept running, leaving Terror alone in their dust. He slowed to a stop and looked into the woods. He could've sworn he saw something move in there...he cautiously stepped forward as he tried to figure out what it was he'd thought he'd seen. But there was no sign of movement, or anything really. Terror brushed it off as an animal and ran forward to catch up to his siblings. But then a rustling in the tree leaves caught his senses. He stopped and looked up, and sure enough, someone had been watching them.

"Hey Terror," Cross said cooly. "How's it hangin'?"

Terror sighed. "You're the one stuck in the tree, not me." He walked over to the base and picked at its trunk. "Funny how it's always you getting into weird situations like this." He eyed Cross from his standpoint.

"Does that mean you're not gonna help me down?...cause I'd really appreciate it if you would..." Cross craned his neck to look around the tree and down at him. He just smiled. As if he would ever help anyway.

"You got yourself up there, you can get yourself down." Terror walked away and started back on his missions to catch up to his brothers.

"I'll pay you!" Cross called out to him. For a second he thought Terror didn't hear him, but he was proven wrong as he landed on the ground next to Terror's feet. "Ow..." Terror held out a hand and lifted the skeleton from the ground. They looked each other in the eyes-wait. Well, Terror only has one eye, but Cross has two, so. However, that should be said.

"With what?" Terror let go of Cross's jacket sleeve.

"Umm.....anything?" He was as unsure as he'd sounded. Was he really willing to do anything for a walking blob of goo and...who knows what?

Terror grinned. "You won't ever come back, deal?"

Cross nodded. "I'll stay a while longer...I wanna see this magic waterfall you three keep talking about," They started walking in the direction that Dream and Nightmare had gone. "Are there dragons, unicorns, and fairies or something? What about mermaids?"

Terror shook his head and sighed. "No, you weirdo."

They laughed a little but quickly stopped when they heard a rustling in the woods. "Oh great. Do you have your whole freak Universe following you?" They stopped and turned to face the noise. But then it came from the other side. Then from both.

"Shit..." Cross summoned his knife and waited for their attackers to pounce. The silence stretched on as the suspense increased. Terror brought out his tentacles in wait. If they weren't going to do something, then he was. But something seemed off. It sounded like the people...were snickering.

"What's so funny?" Terror slowly approached the nearest bush he'd heard the rustling from.

"Oh no! Help!" Cross fell into the bushes on the opposite side and almost burst into laughter. Terror stood by and watched with confusion.

"Cross?" He walked over to the bush and looked down, but when he went to look, he was poked on the back. "Hey!" He turned back to see Nightmare running away. That could only mean...

"Get back here!" He headed after Nightmare though he knew well that this was all a prank. Probably to lighten the mood, but Terror wasn't one to enjoy pranks or jokes.

Dream slapped a hand over his mouth to prevent from bursting out as he and Cross watched from the bush. Cross smiled and looked at Dream. "That was dumb."

"No, it was smart...Terror was dumb." He tried to act innocent after just insulting his brother, but Cross wasn't gonna do anything anyway. He didn't care about what Dream thought of Terror. But always did worry for him and Nightmare. He wasn't for sure what went on in their lives while they were with Terror. Maybe he was abusive, or maybe he was nice. But telling by the way Nightmare acts around him, maybe abusive. Dream doesn't really show signs of being abused though, so maybe Nightmare is just really nervous around him. But then again, Dream is one to keep his negative thoughts or feelings bottled up.

"You okay?" Cross asked. They'd both barely registered the question. Neither knew what the other meant by it, but maybe it was just in general. Dream looked down for a moment, then turned to him.

"We can talk back at home..."

\----------------------

Cross plopped down next to Dream on the bed and looked at him. Even though it was weird being next to Dream after barely knowing him, and because they were in his bed, it was weirder that Dream still considered him a friend.

"So...there's something you want to tell me?"

Dream took a moment to think. There was a lot for him to tell, but how much could he trust Cross with? He never told any secrets. But then again, he never said much unless it was a dumb reference or unsettling threat. Dream looked at Cross and gave him...this look. A look that said that the young skeleton had been through thick and thin. An expression that could be described as pained and bothered. "Can I trust you not to tell anyone?" His voice was quiet and weak.

Cross knew that there was no turning back. He had to push on. "Yes." He didn't think that he could ever sound so serious about something. But it was a serious situation, and Dream was a sensitive child who'd been through too much already. He was too young and too happy for the life he lived. Cross was sure that Terror was abusing Nightmare and Dream, and even if Dream Sans was the most optimistic person anyone could ever know, some people could see right through it. Right through him. It was hard to tell though. No one was for sure what the truth was. No one knew whether things were hard for Dream, or if things were as easy as he made them look.

"Okay..." Dream wrapped the blanket around himself. Probably to hide the tears that were soon to fall as he was about to explain his life at home. Cross sat there. Right next to Dream. He wondered if maybe he should hit the brakes on this, and stop Dream before he goes too far. Try to help him let it out was the other option...after all...some one has to know. "This is gonna take a long time to explain, so bear with me..." Dream continued to look away as he curled up into the cosy blanket next to Cross. One second they were two feet away from each other, and the next, they were up against each other. Well, more like Dream was leaning against Cross for support to prevent himself from bawling his eyes out alone.

"From what I remember...it all started when I was five..."

\----------------------------

"Hey, Dream." Terror leant against the door frame of Dream's room.

"Hey Terror!" Dream smiled brightly at him. He looked so happy. Young. Innocent. And that all came crashing down too fast.

"What you got there?" Terror leant into the room to look at what his little brother was doing. Dream was sitting on the floor colouring with a set of brand new colouring pencils. "Oh...coloured pencils, hm? Did you get those from Ink?" He tried to hide the smirk he had growing on his face by looking down at his art.

"Yeah, isn't it cool? He's the best!" Dream's eye sparkled with something...new. He looked happy. Excited. But that's not what Terror wanted to hear, or see. He wanted his brother happy, but he wanted to make him happy. Not somebody else.

"Oh is he?" Terror closed the door and sat down next to Dream. "Maybe I should tell you then, that I care about you more."

Suddenly, Dream snapped to attention. He put the colouring pencil down and turned to his brother shyly. He looked down at the oak coloured floor. "I know, brother." He said without looking up.

Terror lifted Dream's head up to look him in the eyes. "I love you like a little brother you know...I take care of you...I mentor you...I help you...I boss you around...I own you." He continued to look into his eyes. Those big, starry eyes. Youth and innocence. Fear and loyalty.

"Y-yes, brother..." Dream still wouldn't meet Terror's gaze. He was too afraid to. He was afraid it would be like asking for a challenge. Sure Terror was his older brother, and everything he said was true, he just got a few things wrong. Dream didn't look up to him, and he wasn't owned by anyone. He was always watched by Terror and was always informed of Dream's location. He never did act like an older brother....their relationship was always...strange and tainted.

"These are pretty cool." Terror examined one of the colouring pencils.

"Y-yeah..." Dream looked at it too.

"Pardon?"

"I said i-it sucks and I h-hate it."

Terror smiled. "That's what I thought...well since you hate them so much," He wrapped his other hand around the other half of the pencil. "You wouldn't mind me doing this." With that, he snapped the colouring pencil into two.

Dream's eyes filled with tears as he watched Terror break every single one in half. He sat there, unmoving as his brother tortured him. He couldn't say or do anything. Tears falling from his eyes as he stared on. The smile across Terror's face only grew as he finished and turned to Dream.

"Oh wait, what's wrong? I thought you said that you hated the little gift?" He brushed his thumbs across Dream's cheeks, wiping the tears away. "Don't cry." He continued to smile.

Terror leant down and kissed his brother on the forehead. He lifted his face up and smirked down. "I tried to be nice...I really did. I wanted to give you everything. But now?..." He took a moment to laugh. "Now..." His voice deepened. It turned more predatory, and protective. Suddenly, he resided a hand and-

\----------------------------

"What?!" Cross ripped the blanket away from Dream and looked him in the eyes. "So he has been abusing you."

"Wait! Cross! You don't understand! I don't hate him. It's fine. He may hurt me a lot, but that doesn't mean I don't mind it." Dream sat up defensively.

"What? Dream, he may be your brother, but that doesn't mean he has the right to do what he wants to you. He shouldn't be hurting you..." Cross scooted closer to Dream's side. "Look...I'll talk with him, and if things continue down the path they're on now...then...one of two things will have to happen."

Dream sniffled and looked at him. "And w-what's that?..." He searched Cross's eyes for an answer, but they gave none.

"Either we get rid of Terror...or I take you and Nightmare to another AU where you're safer." Cross smiled sympathetically. It was a tough choice. And both meant that Dream would never see his older brother ever again...

"Cross...it's okay..." Dream hugged him close. "I didn't want anyone to know because I knew it would come down to this...maybe we can talk to him..."

Cross nodded and squeezed Dream. "I'll go talk to him," He rubbed his arms and smiled. Dream moved away and wrapped himself in the blanket again. "I'll be right back, okay?" He stood from the bed and went to the door. Dream nodded and watched as Cross closed the door from the hallway. Now he was alone. If he wanted, he could cry. He could cry until his bed was made up of his tears.

\----------------------------

"Cross, I thought we made a deal if I helped you out of that tree?" Terror walked into the living room from the kitchen just as Cross plopped down on the couch. He looked over.

"Oh I know we did," he stood and walked over to him. "But it appears we have something to talk about." He looked up into Terror's eye.

"Oh do we?" Terror smiled down at him.

"It's about how you've been treating your brothers."

"And since when do you know anything about how I treat them?" Terror challenged him. They stared into each other's eyes. Waiting.

"Dream told me everything."

\----------------------------

"Pleeeeeaaaaaassssseeee?" Underswap Sans begged his brother.

Underswap Papyrus sighed and smiled down at him. "Alright then."

"Yay!!!" Blueberry jumped up and down, then zoomed away to go and buy some cotton candy. Stretch smiled to himself as he watched his little brother bound away in his little blue boots.

"Thanks, Papy!" Blueberry sprinted back over with a big poof of blue and pink on a stick in his hand. He wrapped his little arms around Stretch's waist and smiled.

"Anything for you, bro." He rubbed the top of his brother's skull affectionately.

\----------------------------

"No, fuck you!" Red threw the lamp he'd grabbed and chucked it at Fell as hard as he could.

The Underfell brothers had been fighting for about an hour, and wouldn't stop.

"Oh really now," Fell caught the lamp and flipped it around to throw it back at Red. "You little bitch."

They continued to toss curse words back and forth until finally, they had run out of breath.

"You...cock sucking...mother fucker..." Red panted.

"I already said that." Fell breathed. He looked over his shoulder for a moment to examine the damage they had done on the back wall. It wasn't bad actually. Since most things were either caught by Fell or stopped by Red's body. Both brothers panted as they fell back onto the couch next to each other.

"You suck at this." Red breathed.

"You're worse. I mean at least I didn't throw myself at every projectile." Fell said jokingly.

"Ah huh. Well, at least I...uh...at least I uh...shit." Red looked down at the ground. Sweat poured from his skull onto the carpet and the disarray of random objects. The only thing broken was his stamina. He seriously needed to sleep.

"Sorry..." Fell moved closer to Red and wrapped an arm around him. "Are you going to go to sleep?"

"Probably-"

"Don't even answer that. You can sleep when we finish cleaning up."

"Did you say we?" Red whispered against his brother's skull as he moved to get up.

"No..." Fell began to pick up the pillows and toss them back onto the couch.

"Does that mean I can-"

"No." Fell threw a pillow at Red.

"Oh. My fucking Stars." He picked up the pillow and slammed it back onto the couch. His left eye lit up in its red flame.

Fell set a few more pillows down and turned to Red.

"It's on now, pansy."

\----------------------------

"I love you." ERROR held Vlare close as she whimpered softly against his chest. He pat her head and smiled. Tears streaming from both their eyes, sadness and love filling their souls to the brim. She didn't want to leave, but she had to. She wanted him to feel as heartbroken as she did. He wanted Ink though, so why is she so hurt? She knew the day would come where he would move on, but the way he'd treated her...the way they whispered to one another before falling asleep to wake up the next day only to act serious about their work. It was a time where she would leave, and leave him wanting. She broke out of his arms and looked up at him. Looked him straight in eyes.

"Goodbye." Then she left without another word.

Vlare...oh how ERROR loved her. She meant everything to him. So how could he let himself fall for another? Was he really that stupid? He was letting her walk away from their love. But what love? There was nothing left but an aching feeling in his soul that needed something else. If he couldn't have Vlare, then he was going to have to be with Ink. Although their old love still lingered in broken down memories, in every aching breath, every night spent bawling from heartache, oh...oh how he would do anything to get her back. But of course, goals do change.

\----------------------------

Ink entwined his fingers with ERROR's as they walked down the trail in Fairytale. They were at peace and were very much in love. But yet something was stopping them from their full blooming potential.

"Ink! ERROR! Wait up!" Dream ran up from behind them. ERROR took his hand away from Ink's and stuffed them in his pocket. He didn't like when Dream was always trying to take his last chance away.

"Hey Dream! What is it?" Ink turned around and looked down at smaller skeleton.

\----------------------------

But ERROR wouldn't allow you to see any more. In fact, if he was just gonna destroy every sad memory with himself in it, why not just leave him out of this entirely.


	17. Come One, Come All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 300+ hits and 13 kudos guys!!!!!!! Thanks so much yo!
> 
> Yo yo yo bros! So sorry for updating late. Been really busy lately. Hope you enjoy the chapter though. I'll try to whip up the other one quickish for you guys. Thanks for all the Kudos and Hits! I really appreciate it.
> 
> I'll work on some art for the 300 hits. X3
> 
> Follow me if ya want. :)
> 
> Instagram: @lazy_bonez_hay_the_artist  
> Amino/Undertale: Hay *Or just straight up search Teazrtale and my page/posts should show up.*

ERROR sat next to Underfresh Sans in the Void.

"So, you want advice on your boyfriend..." Fresh looked over at the dark skeleton.

"It would help..." He shrugged as he continued a game of cats cradle.

"Well bruhski, you've come to the right place," Fresh smiled. "All you gotta do is ask him out. If he accepts, then do whatever you have planned. If not...I'm still here." He stood up. "Good luck.

ERROR dissipated the string and stood. There was one thing he had to do, and that was to ask Ink out on a date.

\----------------------------

"Well duh!" Ink hugged ERROR. "Why wouldn't I have time to spend with you? I'll just tell Dream and Blueberry to follow up on UF Papyrus tomorrow." He smiled and let go.

"What are we waiting for then?" ERROR smiled at Ink. He wasn't exactly expecting him to accept his offer.

"Wait!" Cross came running down the stairs with Tanz hot on his tail bone.

"Oh, I almost forgot! I'll be heading out with ERROR, so be good, okay?" Ink looked over at them.

"But..." Cross looked at Ink and ERROR. They'd been acting strange around each other lately. For...some strange reason.

"Here...I'll drop them off in Studiotale. They can't do much there." ERROR suggested. Ink nodded at the suggestion. And with that, ERROR Sans teleported Cross and Tanz to Studiotale and him and Ink to the city in Dreamtale. He had the whole night planned out. He and Ink were gonna have the best night of their lives, and nothing could ruin it.

\----------------------------

"Okay. He definitely lied..." Cross stared ahead with Tanz as they took the scene in. The sky was a dark red, and the clouds were a deep grey. Shadows were cast everywhere, and a small town similar to Snowdin stood ahead.

"Is that what they call...Snowdin?" Tanz took a step forward.

"I think...." Cross walked slowly with him. "Did yours look like that?"

"Not even close...it wasn't even called Snowdin either..." Tanz stopped them. "Wait...did you hear that?"

They stood silently in the middle of the path. It was only a while now until they reached the small town. There wasn't a sound that was heard or made.

"Well, well, well..." Red stepped out from the woods in front of the pair. "If it isn't Cross and his girlfriend."

"I'm a boy-"

"Shush," Red made his way over to them. "Now, after our last encounter...did, we not agree that you WOOD never show your face around here again?"

Tanz tried not to laugh as Red spoke. "We were forced here against our will." He looked Red in the eyes, which was an immediate mistake because he didn't seem to like that.

"First, you randomly show up to try and take over this AU, and almost kill me. Next, you're here with this lady-"

"Man!"

"Whatever. But now you bring your friend? What's the plan this time? The Same goal?" Red narrowed his eyes at them.

"Tanz told the truth. ERROR lied to us and Ink that we were going to Studiotale, but he sent us here for some dumb reason. And out of all Universes, he had to pick the trashiest." Cross glared at him.

"First off, cool name Tanz," Red winked at him. "Second, you're an idiot for even approaching Mr Glitchy Virus Man. Third, Studiotale's lame as hell, you didn't wanna go there anyway. Fourth, Underfell may be trashy, but at least I have a Universe ." Red's flaming left eye lit up a bit more.

Tanz and Cross stayed silent as they let the speech sink into the atmosphere. It wasn't exactly a speech, but it sure was a mouthful.

"Heya Red," A girl who resembled Chara stepped out from the forest. "Nice of you to bring guests. Maybe they could judge who wins." She smirked and walked over to the group.

"Shut up Chara." Red continued to glare at Tanz and Cross as Chara leant against him.

"This your girlfriend?" Cross smirked as he watched Fell Chara lean in towards his face. But as soon as she heard what Cross said, she pushed Red away and looked straight at Cross.

"Why would I ever date some pansy like him?" UF Chara shot needles from her eyes to Cross, and turned away.

"Sans! Sans!" The Frisk of the Universe came stumbling forward from the town. Red knelt down and hugged the Frisk. Tanz watched the exchange and tried not to cry. But tears did sit in his eye sockets. He missed his AU, sure. But he loved kids. Protected them actually, and to see a guy like Red being as nice as he was to the young girl was a bit emotional for him.

"Tanz?" Cross said quietly as he nudged his arm.

"Follow us." Red stood carrying Frisk and walked towards the town with Tanz, Cross, and UF Chara following behind.

"Is he gonna take us to his brother and have us killed?" Tanz murmured to Cross. To which he responded with a shrug.

The snow crunched under everyone's feet. The cold air bit hard on all of their bones or skin. UF Chara didn't seem to mind at all though. She happily skipped along through the snow, soon passing Red and Frisk to run off into the small, shady town. It wasn't that Underfell was a really torn up AU, it was just the fact that all of its inhabitants were corrupt and twisted in a sick way. But ever since Frisk was brought into the place, things had turned up a little nicer, and the Universe wasn't as bad as before.

"There you are," UF Papyrus, or Edge for short, stood outside the front door to the house he, his brother, and two adopted sisters shared. At first, they all thought it to be a mistake to allow UF Chara into their home, but it turned out that she only loved to threaten and kill for a short period of time, and it was all out of loneliness. "What's he doing here? And who's that?" Edge eyed Tanz and Cross as they slowed their pace behind the others.

"This is Cross's girlfriend Tanz." Red looked back at them and set Frisk down. He smirked at Tanz. Still, he was being a jerk about Tanz's appearance, even after he complimented him.

"Isn't that a guy?" Edge leant into Red as he eyed Tanz.

"Yeah. I just like messin' with him." Red laughed a little.

"Look, we just wanna get out of here,so...is there a way?" Cross stepped forward and looked between the Fell Brothers.

UF Chara walked over and pulled Cross away from them by his scarf. "Look, buddy," She looked him in the eyes. "There is no way out of this shit hole."

"Hey!" UF Frisk tugged on UF Chara's pant leg. She was the one to start the peace, and sure things were doing pretty good, but she sure did hate swearing and wasn't gonna let one word fly by. UF Chara sighed and looked down at her 'sister'.

"Okay guys, I'm takin' this one inside for a nap," She lifted UF Frisk as she struggled against her. "See ya." The door closed quietly as all went quiet outside. The wind blew the snow across the ground and made the tree branches shiver against one another. The tension grew and grew as Tanz, Cross, UF Papyrus, and UF Sans all stared at one another.

"Whelp, if we can't leave, we'd might as well get out of this area." Tanz tried to tear Cross away from the other two, but it was almost impossible. He really wanted to stay and finish where he'd left off. Tanz huffed and threw Cross up on his shoulders.

"Hey!" Cross tried to break free, but he wasn't going to at his size. He finally gave in and laid down on Tanz's shoulders and head.

"Hey wait!" Red ran over and stopped them. "Even if it looks like things 've changed, it's still bad out there." He blushed a bright red and looked between the two of them.

"Alright," Tanz looked back at Cross reassuringly. "But no tricks, got it?" Red nodded and led them back to the house, and inside to the living room.

"If you have to stay the night, you can take my room," Red's blush intensified as he leant against the couch by his brother. Though he ignored everyone in the room, they were all looking at him. "I-I'm goin' for a walk." With that he teleported away, leaving Edge, Tanz, and Cross.

"So..." Cross jumped down from Tanz's shoulders and sat on the opposite side of the couch. "What now? Wait?" He fiddled with his scarf as he spoke.

"I guess," Tanz walked over and stood before the two, not feeling comfortable between two men. "I mean there's nothing else to do." He blushed as Edge eyed him. Was he...looking him up and down???

"Okay, well...erm...I'm gonna...go on a walk to-"

"Nope," Cross pulled Tanz onto the couch. "Remember what Red said? We can't leave cause it's 'not safe'." He rubbed his head and pushed him off.

"I know, I know. It just sucks that I have to listen to him," Tanz curled up on the couch next to Edge and Cross. "I shouldn't have to, but it is his Universe..." He played with the scarf around his neck. His brother's scarf...oh how it brought back memories. And he was mighty thankful ERROR had given it back to him. But of course, the guy had to cause more trouble after a great alliance could've been made.

\-------------------------------------

ERROR laughed as Ink pouted. "Really? You thought that?" He looked so sad about it. But then they both burst out into fits of uncontrollable laughter. It really was hilarious that when ERROR first met Ink he thought he was a girl. And thought that for so long that he always called him by that. Ink always thought that ERROR was just kidding around about that, and called him a girl just to make him mad. But it turned out that he legitly thought so.

"You know, when I first met you, I thought you were an old guy killing people for kicks because you didn't have anything better to do," Ink continued to laugh, but ERROR just stared. "Wait, what's wrong?" Ink looked over at him.

"But you were right," He laughed a little. "I was an old guy killing people for fun." They laughed and laughed.

"Ah....hey, I'm gonna be right back. Gotta go check on something really quickly...be right back." Ink smiled and leant into ERROR for a quick kiss, then left through a messy puddle of paint.

\-----------------------

"Hey Ink!" Studio Sans rushed out of the house to greet his older brother.

"Hey, where's Tanz and Cross?" He walked up to him and smiled.

Studio starred at Ink for a while. "Tanz and....Cross?...they're not here."

"What?"

\------------------------

"LIAR," Ink slapped ERROR hard across the face and crossed his arms. "Where are they?!"

ERROR rubbed his stinging cheek and raised an eyebrow at him. "Where are who?"

"Tanz and Cross. Where are they? You said you sent them to Studiotale, but they're not there. Where did you really send them?" He narrowed his eyes at him.

They stood in silence as ERROR tried to come up with an excuse or explanation. Ink's rage only increased as the time stretched on.

"Look, Ink-"

"You're helping me find them. Now," Ink yanked ERROR by his hoodie strings over to the wall. "Open a portal. Do it." He pushed him forward.

ERROR cautiously obeyed Ink and opened a portal to Underfell. Ink glared at him one more time before throwing himself and ERROR through it. They landed in the crunchy snow in the AU suspected to hold Tanz and Cross.

Ink got up first and dragged ERROR to his feet. "Let's move."

\------------------------

"What? How'd we end up here?" Tanz rubbed his head as him and Cross ended up landing in a pile of snow.

"ERROR must have us on a timer. We stay in a Universe for only a certain amount of time, then move onto the next," Cross stood up and helped Tanz out of the snow. He pulled his hood up and buried his face in his scarf. "Well, let' see what crappy Universe we're stuck in this time." He led the way onward as some things appeared familiar. The layout was almost exactly the same as Underfell, so they could kind of figure out which way to go to find civilisation. The snow was a little softer, but the air was dull with no feeling of hot, warm, or cold whatsoever.

"What is this place?" Tanz looked up at the grey sky. There were no clouds, but then again the light grey sun wasn't doing much but staying there. Everything looked 2D, and fake, except for Tanz and Cross.

"Hello, fellow travellers!" A small squirrel hopped over to them. Tanz and Cross just stared at it, amazed that the thing could speak. "Do not give me that look young ones. You're late after all. The show's already begun! Now come along, come along..." The small rodent led the way down a very long pathway. The trees turned black, with no leaves and no life. There was a light coming from up ahead, and the sound of announcements being made, along with...circus music?

\------------------------

"Crap, they're not here," Edge, Red, and ERROR looked on as Ink let the cuss word escape his usually clean mouth. "If they're not here, where are they?" Ink turned to ERROR.

"You think I know?"

Ink glared. "You're the one that sent them out here in the first place, so you should know what Universe they're in now."

"Good point, but...oh alright. Come on," ERROR took Ink back outside of the Fell house and opened a dark portal. "I'm warning you though, this one is freaky-"

"I don't care let's go," Ink pushed him through and went in after him. "And I've dealt with some of the worst AUs so this one...shouldn't be...so...bad..."

"See what I said?"

\--------------------------

"Okay, can I go home now?" Tanz said as he and Cross ran into the woods, away from the Freakshow they'd come upon.

"Not yet. We still have some time left-" Cross got cut off as he got stuck in some sort of mud. "Oh, great. Now we're gonna sink to death."

"This is what we get for trying to escape." Tanz sighed and looked down at the mud that slowly began to swallow the two.

"Any last words, Tanz?" Cross said dramatically.

"Oh please. We're not gonna die." Tanz crouched down as he tried to break free of the mud.

"Crap." Cross looked up from the mud and over to the side.

"Need help?" Terror stood leaning against a dead tree, a smile plastered on his face.

"Duh!" Cross struggled against the mud once more.

"Always...always needing me to help you out of stupid situations like this," He walked over and teleported them out of the mud, and out of the Universe, to Dreamtale. "Clean up, then get out." He walked off, leaving Tanz and Cross outside of a house.

The front door clicked open quietly, but the gasp that came after that was more easily heard.

"Huh?" Cross looked over to the front to see two sets of eyes peeking out at the two of them. Tanz watched curiously.

Nothing happened for a while, until finally, the door swung open, revealing Nightmare and Dream.

"What are you doing here?" Nightmare commented sourly. He looked Cross up and down.

"Brother, do not be rude. They clearly just got back after some sort of accident." Dream walked out and over to Tanz and Cross. He looked them up and down for any injuries.

"Sure." Nightmare stood by the door and watched. He eyed Tanz. They'd never met him before. Not even heard of him. They should've though, right?

"Come along, we'll get you cleaned up inside." Dream scurried back into the house.

Tanz went in second, Cross third, and Nightmare went last. He walked off to the side, still keeping an eye on the two 'intruders'.

"There's a bathroom upstairs, and the bedroom at the end of the hall should have some clothes in it for now. Just set your dirty ones in the hamper and I'll take care of them. Nightmare, Can you make some snacks while I clean up a bit?" Dream smiled radiantly at the group.

Nightmare huffed as he went into the kitchen to prepare some food for the guests.

"You guys can go ahead. I'll be down here waiting." Dream smiled reassuringly at Tanz and Cross as they headed upstairs to clean up.

\------------------------

"So they're not here either...have you been lying to me?" Ink looked ERROR in the eyes.

"No! I swear! They should've been here...that's what I picked next at least...maybe they left early on accident due to a minor glitch...we could check the next Universe?" ERROR shyly looked down at the ground in fear that Ink would let his anger out at full blast. But it didn't. Instead, a small choking noise came from the woods.

Terror walked over as he held back laughter ready to erupt. "You two are clueless, aren't you?" He laughed at them.

"Tell me where they are!" Ink launched forward but was quickly stopped when his arms were grabbed by ERROR.

"Dreamtale ya dumb dumbs. Why do you think I'm here, to stay quiet and breathe in the disturbing scent of oil and circus freak's waste?" Terror finally calmed down and looked at them.

"Come on!" Ink wriggled out of ERROR's arms and looked at him.

ERROR sighed as he formed a portal for the three to step through. It was a beautiful day in Dreamtale, but Terror didn't want Ink and ERROR enjoying it like he did.

"Come on, when I dropped them off here, they were heading into the woods." He smirked as the other two listened to what he had to say. At the moment they would believe anything he said. If Terror told them that he'd killed Cross and Tanz, then ERROR and Ink would probably believe him.

\-------------------------

"You look...great." Tanz tried not to laugh as he saw Cross step out of the bathroom in clothes two sizes too big. They both laughed, knowing that Cross looked ridiculous.

"You look better than me." Cross looked at Tanz to see that he was about the average Sans size, maybe just a little bit taller, but just about the normal size. Cross's eyes rested on the scarf around Tanz's neck.

Of course, he wasn't gonna take it off.

"Are you guys done?" Dream walked over to them. They nodded and looked at him. Dream smiled, but it was a smile hiding a laugh. Of course, it was funny that the oversized clothes were on Cross. But he wasn't gonna wear anything else.

"Like having a baby." Tanz rubbed Cross's head as Dream headed into the spare room to wash the clothes. They headed downstairs and into the kitchen to see Nightmare leaning against the countertop. There was cut up fruit and veggies on some plates, and some drinks by each.

"Is that chocolate milk?" Cross looked at the chocolaty glass near a plate.

"Yeah, why?" Nightmare looked up from the ground at him.

"I love chocolate milk!" He smiled brightly.

Tanz laughed a little. Cross was acting like he was four years old. He looked at the other drinks to see a smoothie. Does this guy know what we like? I thought they didn't know us...they do seem like they know Cross though...I wonder how...

"I'm back!" Dream slid into the kitchen. "I am so sorry for rushing all of you. Oh! Silly me! We don't know each other, well...you don't know us and we don't know you." He looked at Tanz.

Tanz blushed slightly and nodded. "The name's Tanz."

Nightmare looked up at him. For some reason, he seemed more interested in the conversation, or Tanz. "I'm Nightmare." He smiled a little at Tanz, who smiled back.

"And I'm Dream!" He smiled.

"So you both know Cross?" Tanz questioned Nightmare and Dream.

"Long story...heh," Dream rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh hey! Thanks for making the snacks." Dream smiled at his brother and took a plate and a glass of tea.

"Yeah..." Nightmare continued to eye Tanz.

"Do we need to talk?" Tanz was looking right back at him. They stared at each other for a moment.

"Can we?" Nightmare blushed a little under the pressure.

"Yeah." Tanz was lead by Nightmare upstairs to his room. It was painted darker colours, and everything in the room followed that pattern.

"So, Tanz...right?" Nightmare patted the spot on the bed next to him. They sat down and looked at each other. "Look...I know what happened to you, your family, your Universe...I saw what happened. The Star Sanses were watching and I thought I'd see what they were up to, they were all watching some sort of screen. They knew it was happening but they didn't do anything..."

"The Star Sanses are Dream, Ink, and Blueberry...right?" Tanz raised an eyebrow at Nightmare.

"Oh...and Cross was there..." He looked down sadly. "Sorry...I didn't wanna say anything because I was worried you would be mad about it...or break it off with Cross."

The door opened and Dream looked in. "Nightmare! Are you trying to lie to Tanz about what happened? You and I both know your side of the story is not true because there wasn't a meeting and Cross was busy in Inktale."

Nightmare huffed and stood up. "Believe what you want, but there was a meeting and it was in Inktale where Cross, you and Ink were." He crossed his arms and glared at Dream.

"You know what? I think I'm gonna go downstairs...and...eat those delicious snacks." Tanz smiled as sincerely as he could manage and slipped past Dream downstairs.

"There you are!!!" Ink hugged Cross and rushed over to Tanz. "I was worried you'd died!"

"ERROR?" Cross glared at him.

"Sorry?" He smiled a little.

"First, ERROR lied to me about where he sent you, then we were aimlessly roaming through AUs until finally Terror came across us and sent us in the right way...sort of...he tried to get us to go to the woods, but then we turned back after four minutes. And it turns out you've been right here!"

"Can we just go home?" Cross almost fell against ERROR as he sighed dramatically.

"Yeah." Ink smiled and looked at everyone.

\--------------------------

"You've gotta be kidding me. Really? Are we really gonna start this again?" Nightmare stared his brother down with a familiar ferocity in his gaze.

"Apparently," Dream snarled. "A fight it is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Also, tell me what you guys think. I'd really appreciate it if you were honest with your commenting. Also, I'd like to hear your theories and ideas. I'm always open for that. :)


	18. Winner or Loser, Cheating or Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm really glad that you're all enjoying this, but don't leave just yet, there's more to come! I'll try to work harder at updating quicker since now I'm spending a little bit more time online than usual. (Mostly for art and writing XD) Sorry about the long wait on the last one, so I'll make this one super interesting for ya. I will, sadly have to break this one into two parts so we can do a vote on who wins the fight. I love reading your feedback and hope to see more! Thanks again for the 300+ hits and 13+ Kudos!
> 
> When this one is posted please comment who you want to win, whoever has the most votes, wins!

"You're crazy. Absolutely crazy," Terror sighed. "I can't believe you. Really. Just, why?" He looked over at his doppelganger strangely.

Nightmare shifted uncomfortably. He thought that his brother would want him to fight Dream and win for the Lunar sides. Terror never did seem to into the whole Sun vs Moon crap though. He tried to stay away from it. Probably because his two siblings were on opposite sides, and he would feel bad by supporting one or the other without doing so to both.

"I'm not crazy, and there's plenty of reasons why." He crossed his arms and turned away. Terror may have abused Dream and Nightmare in the past, but he wouldn't treat Nightmare as badly as he did to Dream who got it worst of all.

"Look, Nightmare...I love that you're trying to prove yourself to me and the Lunar Council...I just worry that you might not win.." Terror looked down sheepishly.

"What?! You think I'm going to lose?" Nightmare held back his mixed emotions as every tear in his body sat waiting behind his eyes to be let free. Did that mean that he could never impress his brother? Would he ever be loved like others? Like his dirty brother Dream?

"Nightmare...I didn't mean to sound rude or offend you...but yes I think you might lose. There's a 50/50 chance...that's all I'm saying," He walked over to Nightmare and looked him in the eyes. "If you're really gonna go out with this...just...be careful...okay?"

Nightmare nodded and smiled.

_I'll make you proud._

\------------------

"What? You did? I thought for sure Nightmare would say something like that...but you?..." Blueberry shook his head slowly.

"It's not a bad thing. It was about time that the Solar and Lunar paths crossed in despise," Dream looked at his phone. "Besides, things were getting too tense between us...maybe a release would break us apart but show some kindness and then we could make up for it somehow...you now like maybe the fight will instead bring us together instead of year is apart. I mean we've already done that..." He looked to Ink.

He stayed silent and looked at the others. "Look...I don't agree...but I don't disagree...just be safe...that's all I ask." Ink walked over and kissed Dream on the forehead, then walked off through a portal.

"Good luck Dreamy." Blueberry smiled and followed Ink out of the portal.

Dream sighed as he sat in his bed. He started getting second thoughts. After all, Nightmare was his brother...but...he was Lunar...Optimistic...Negative...all the opposite...

\-------------------

 _**Tomorrow...3:00 pm...we release the animals.**_


	19. Dreamare?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Solar and Lunar Councils date back to olden times. Way before Monsters were ever banished to the Underground. Both Councils represented their opposites. 
> 
> One to be Light, the other to be Dark. Every 45 years, a conflict would erupt within the two governing groups. These outbreaks would affect ones who were connected to the ancient blood of the original leaders. The bloodline linked the newest members that represented their side would cause them to fight like all others once did. 
> 
> Day vs Night. 
> 
> Light vs Day. 
> 
> Solar vs Lunar. 
> 
> Positive vs Negative. 
> 
> Dream vs Nightmare.
> 
>  
> 
> _Good luck contestants~_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somethin' ya didn' expect. >:3
> 
> Also wooooo!!!! 400+ hits and 14+ Kudos! I was gonna make the 300+ hits art, but now. XD I'll make a 400+ thing and post it somewhere.
> 
> Heyo readers! This is a little message saying that the councils are made up by myself and are not actually part of Joku's Dreamtale. It's true the two fight though, but not in the same ways. They also weren't actually raped in the original creator's story, and Nightmare can't separate from his corrupt self. That's all for now, so enjoy the corrected chapters!

"So...there's just one minute left...huh?" Blueberry looked up at his brother.

"Eyup." Switch turned his head around to look at everyone.

People from every Universe came to watch the fight. Solar vs Lunar, Positive vs Negative. It was a fight to 1hp. People were ecstatic. There was energy in the air, and everyone could feel it. Tension growing. Sins crawling. People watching. But it wasn't just people from AUs...it was also the Lunar and Solar Councils.

\--------------------

Ink sighed and put his arms around Dream for one more hug. "Dream? Just promise that you'll come back...just like I did...okay?..." He held back tears as Dream left the embrace and went to the entrance to the arena.

"I know, but it-"

"won't be easy." Nightmare crossed his arms as he refused to look back ERROR.

"Yeah. Just do your best to beat him into the ground. Win like you mean it. Do it for your brother. Do it for Terror." ERROR watched as he headed to the entrance.

"Whatever the cost, whoever the person, I'm making it out of this fight alive, and proud. Although there shall be a loss, a win will always make up for it." And with that, Dream and Nightmare stepped out into the dusty surface of the battle ground.

The crowd cheered on as they walked all the way to the centre lines.

Dream nodded his head to his brother.

Nightmare just looked at him.

Second thoughts.

First attacks.

Regretful moves.

Deadly looks.

Mercy rules.

Fighting tactics.

_Who will win?~_

\---------------------------

"Your move first." Nightmare flashed his brother a pearly white smile.

"As you wish..." Dream spun his staff a few times, then bolted forward. The air was thick with nervousness and a feeling of being unsure.

Nightmare slid to the side as his brother passed him. Their staffs just barely hitting each other. He smirked as he tilted his head to the side. "You missed."

Dream let out a snarl, much like a rabid racoon. They circled one another. Waiting for the next attack.

"I thought maybe you'd learned that a running attack was least effective. After all, we've fought before. Maybe not this intensely, but we have," Nightmare held his staff defensively before him. "Still your move."

Dream spun his staff around and ran up to Nightmare once more, this time, following as he moved to get out of the way. The chase was on, and they were nearing the edge of the arena. Dream sped up along side Nightmare and leapt up into the air. His boots pushed against the wall of the stands as he bounced back, past Nightmare, to run for himself. Nightmare ran up to the wall and jumped up onto it to back flip away, and after Dream. At first, he struggled to keep up, but then he was finally able to reach out and push his back, sending Dream up against the wall. Nightmare slowed down and stood before Dream. A deadly smile crept across his face. Like a predator, he swiftly pinned his prey up against the wall and neared closer.

"You did well, brother. But now..." He laughed a little as yelling and cheering filled the air more than ever. It was a wonderful feeling. To have adrenaline pumping hard, and a heart pounding fast. He was to be the winner. He would make Terror proud. He would finally be accepted in the world he lost to daylight. But now...

"Don't underestimate me." Dream said smoothly. His voice comforting in the stressful environment. Dream pushed back against the wall, then forward against Nightmare. They tumbled to the centre of the arena where the fight once began. Finish what you started would be a great line for the moment. Finally, they stopped rolling through the sandy dust. Dream came out on top. Staff raised above his head, ready to smash down on his brother's skull. Nightmare shook beneath him. Granted all the tumbled cracked a few bones in both the skeleton's bodies, but nothing was more damaged than their souls. All those years they spent together. Growing, and learning. They created a bond no other's could break. And now they're acting as if all of those happy memories never happened. As if they'd vanished just as they took a step on the floor. A glint of something else, a spark one could say, began to form. They'd realized their mistake as soon as it'd already begun to happen. Both tried to tear away, but it was useless. Neither would escape the fate that had already started. Nothing could stop the formation as dust built, and both screamed out in pain.

But no one could hear or see them. With dust too thick, and other's panicking, no one was to know what was really going on. Ink, ERROR, Cross, and Tanz directed people out of the arena safely. Everyone was cleared out, and there was still dust across the ground. They all headed down to the lower level to help Dream and Nightmare, but they soon discovered that they were nowhere to be found as the dust soon began to clear, and only one figure sat in the midst of it all.The strange person sat with a hand to their skull.

"Nightmare? Dream?" Ink cautiously stepped towards the person as the dust continued to clear. He slapped a hand across his mouth when he saw the figures true form. "Oh my stars..."

The strange fuse between Nightmare and Dream looked over to the side at Ink and the others. They looked on. Just blinking at them. Nothing more but looking and blinking.

Tanz walked past Ink and over to the fuse to help them up. He looked them in the eyes. "You're gonna be okay...we can help you..." He smiled at them a little and looked at the others. "We should go to Dreamtale."

Ink nodded in agreement as they all got together near the person. "Do you have a name?" Ink looked the fuse up and down.

"Dreamare..." His voice was that of caramel. Smooth, rich, and creamy. Loving and affectionate. But who knows. With a voice like that, he could've gotten Nightmare's killer instinct. Everyone looked at him and decided it would be best to take him back to a home that would seem maybe just a little familiar. That is if he remembers anything at all.

\---------------------------------------

 

"What happened? Seriously?" Terror searched Cross's eyes for an answer. Dreamare sat in the living room on the couch with Tanz. Cross sighed and shook his head. He had no words for the incident. It kind of just...happened...

"Hey, we need you to watch and take care of him while we head out to help bring back Tanz's AU." ERROR peered around the corner at Cross and Terror. The two looked at each other and headed into the living room.

"We're leaving now, so behave." Ink met everyone's eyes to make sure they all understood what the situation was.

"Let's go then." Tanz got up and walked over to the group.

"Good luck..." Terror whispered as they all left through one of Ink's paint portals.

"Is that gonna wash out?" Dreamare stared at the puddle on the carpet.

"I dunno." Terror shrugged.

\-------------------------------------

"How are we gonna pull this off?" ERROR brushed his hand across an AU paper as the others followed into the middle.

"We need to try to...try?" Ink held Cross's and Tanz's AU papers. They were blank. Like their Universes. Like their minds and souls. Missing something...Tanz stepped forward and looked at the paper.

"Have you tried redrawing it?" Cross said as he stared down at his own blank paper. Though, they weren't completely blank. There was still a speck or something with fine detail on the papers. They must've represented Cross and Tanz.

"If this doesn't work...you can always live in my Universe with me." Studiotale Sans sneaked from behind papers. He looked at Ink and smiled a little. The two brothers weren't exactly close, but they were close enough to at least remember each other.

"What do we do to bring them back though?" Tanz ran a hand across the paper's smooth surface and wondered if it meant anything.

"I'll send you and Cross to the Phalsorphy," Inktale Papyrus walked over and stood next to Studio. "Then you two can work it out. It seems complicated at first, but things will get easier once you're in there." He smiled at Cross and Tanz as they looked up and over at him.

"Gel, we talked about this. It's too great of a risk-"

"They'll make it. I know they will." Gel cut Ink off as he tried to counter his claim, but even ERROR knew that Gel was right about Cross and Tanz. They were strong in so many ways. Maybe not physically, but their magic, their will power, their determination, and everything else within them was full of strength. Ink sighed and walked over to hug Cross.

"Be safe," He let go and hugged Tanz. "Okay?" He looked down at him and smiled. Tanz nodded and walked over to Cross and Gel. They were all like a family. But they might just be close to the breaking point. The point where someone might not make it out alive anymore. There have been so many times where people would make it out without a scratch, but as Gel said, heading to the Phalsorphy was a dangerous job.

\------------------------------

The room was a bright white with nothing to see. Cross and Tanz leaned against each other for support as they waited for the tingling sensation to dissipate or die down. Gel had sent them to their location so they could finally get to bring back their Universes. If only they knew what they were supposed to do...

"Now what?" Cross finally stood up normally and looked around. Tanz shrugged. Just as they were about to talk about what to do, a screen appeared before them and the room went dark except for the light that was illuminating from it.

"Hello Cross, and, Tanz," The computer spoke with a feminine robotic voice. "How may I help you?"

Both looked at each other then back at the screen. Tanz stepped up to the screen and cleared his throat. "Um, we're here to bring back our-"

"I already know. I just wanted to make sure you knew."

Tanz and Cross stood in silence as the machine went away. Taking it's light with it.

"This way." A familiar figure stood in door of light behind them.

There was a moment of deciding what the best decision was. But soon there wasn't a choice and the two followed behind the strangely familiar woman.

"I know what you're thinking...that you know me some how...that I am familiar in some way, shape, or form...and you're right. You do know me." The woman looked back and smiled, and in that moment, thing became more clear.

"No way..." Cross stopped dead in his tracks as he looked at the woman in disbelief. Tanz stopped and stared as well, but the girl kept walking.

"Well," She spoke smoothly, just like she had for millenniums. "Do you want your Universes back?" She laughed a little. As if it were all a silly little prank. But it wasn't. It was real.

\---------------------------------

"So..." ERROR looked around the room at everyone. They all cast him hateful or fearful looks as he stepped into the room. Ink smiled at everyone, and lead ERROR over to a seat near Dust and Horror then walked calmly over to his seat at the head of the table. He sat across from ERROR on the opposite side, but never once did make eye contact. The Sans meeting was the largest meeting out of every other character line, therefore they needed the most space and time to get everything and everyone into one meeting, on one day, during each month. The evil people sat near the west wing of the room, while the good sat near the east.

"Welcome everyone, and thank you all for coming on such short notice! It's really great to see that almost every Sans has shown up today," Ink smiled at everyone, seeing, but not looking. "I pulled you all away from your daily schedules to spread some light on a very touchy subject for some people...I'm sure we've all witnessed the insane events that occurred during the fight earlier today. Dream and Nightmare are fine, but they are stuck in a fuse. Don't worry though, it will only be temporary."

"How can a fuse be temporary?" Red raised an eyebrow at Ink. To him, and most others, defusing was a myth. A hoax that could never happen. As if fusing is a curse that one would have to withstand for the rest of their life.

"That's what I'm about to get to," Ink sighed and looked down for a moment. Then raised his head to look around. "Gel, or Tatt, technically Inktale Papyrus, my brother, has sent Cross and Tanz into the Phalphsorphy to retrieve Tearztale. Tanz's father used to defuse people for a living, so Dreamare will defuse and things will go back to normal."

"So wait..." Fairytale shook his head. "They're out in the Phalsorphy to resurrect Tearztale, but they can't bring back any other AUs while they're still out there?"

Ink's eyes changed at the sentence. He knew Fairytale was right, and he knew that it would be easier to bring them all back at once. But there was something else he knew.

"It would require more magic and energy to bring back more than one AU." He looked down at the table solemnly. The risks were large, and the danger level was high. He'd warned them. Both of them. Yet they still accepted. They were willing to take their lives for others.

"Well Ink? Is that it? Defuse Dream and Nightmare by bringing back Tearztale. Then Tanz gets his AU, while dozens of others before him never get there's. They'll be told soon, right? Isn't that what you said years ago when the first AU was destroyed? What are you gonna do when those Universeless come after you because they don't have anywhere to go? They might just try to take down Tearztale and It'll all be for nothing," Swapfell Sans, also known as Jasper, glared at Ink as he stood and headed out of the room. "This meeting just separated us more than we were before."

"One of them isn't coming back! Okay?..." Ink looked around at everyone as he fought back tears. He stood and headed towards the exit. "I'm sorry for calling you all here..." Then he walked away.

Everyone in the room looked around at each other or down at the table.

"I can't believe this..." ERROR stood and met everyone's eyes as he did. "You're all just gonna stay here and let Ink suffer. Let people down. Allow Tanz and Cross to die. This was all pointless then. For me to switch sides last minute just to find out that I could've stayed evil. Could've kept on destroying. Killing. Hurting. You're all clueless as to what you've done." He walked out of the room after Ink, leaving everyone else to sit in guilty silence. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. 

It wasn't anyone's fault...was it?


	20. Travel Far For Great Change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thankz zo much for all the Hitz and Kudoz! Yez I'm uzing z inztead of s. lol.
> 
> Sorry about taking a long time! Gonna be more busy now more than ever with Halloween coming up and getting my copyright for art and writing. Really happy that you guys are enjoying it? I think? Anyway, hope you are and here's the next chapter.
> 
> By the way, the song lyrics in here are by The Fat Rat and the song is Never Be Alone.

"It's that simple." The woman flashed a gleaming white smile at the pair.

"Well then. I guess I'll go." Tanz shrugged and walked up to the hole in the ground. It didn't seem that deep. It was just dark.

"Hey," Cross walked over to Tanz and hugged him. "Thanks, and good luck." He smiled and kissed Tanz's cheek gently. They both blushed, but not for long. Cross headed back over next to the woman and watched as Tanz stood on the edge of the drop. He looked down and took a deep breath. Just stepping forward  
slightly, he tipped off the edge and entered the endless looking pit. The air flew past his body, sending the cold air across his bones making him shiver. The fall went on, and on. As if it never really would end. Until finally...

All was black in Tanz's line of sight.

But it wasn't the dark that took his vision.

Instead the bite of a snake.

The ground.

\------------------------

"You may leave." The woman waved Cross away as they stepped into the main room.

"What about Tanz?" Cross wanted to tug at her sleeve and beg for him to go with Tanz, but that wasn't how things worked.

"He will be sent to your AU within a week." She continued to ignore him.

"Why so long?" He followed quickly after her, but was stopped much quicker than he could run.

"Stop asking questions and I might just let him live one more day," She snarled.  
But her personality changes as she let go of Cross's arm and brushed off her dress. "I'll be going. Have a good one!" She smiles joyfully at him as she walked off again.

Cross stood there for a moment. The gears turning and cranking. Questions and thoughts filled his mind as suddenly the answer was brought forth.

Tanz wasn't coming back.

\------------------------

"Ink! Ink over here!" Cross sprinted towards Ink and a few others.

"Cross?" Gel looked over, a little unsettled about how he got back from the Phalsorphy.

"Ink," Cross gasped for breath as he stood before the group. "Look...something's wrong...we made it to the Phalsorphy, and we met this lady. She seemed oddly familiar, but nothing rang a bell for a name or any memories.  
She had us follow her and said that only one of us could go into this weird...hole in the ground. Tanz went, and he fell, and...and...she had me l-leave without an-nother w-word and Tanz is still th-there an-nd now-"

"Shhhh..." Ink hugged Cross close and held him there as his clothes slowly absorbed the many tears from Cross's eye sockets. He wept against his sturdy form. His body shaking with the force of his loss and sadness. His mind wracked with depression as it all came flooding to him. Everything bad happened to him. No one could help, and if they did they give up or died.

"Me and Gel 'll go find out what's goin' on." Studio took Gel's arm, but he refused by a simple shake of the head.

None of them were really sure about what was going on, but what they did know, was that something was terribly wrong.

\---------------------

"Hey! Lady! Come out and show yourself!" Studio looked around the Phalsorphy slowly.

"She's not gonna come out Studio..." Gel walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Tsk, tsk. So impatient, aren't you?" The woman circled them slowly. "Do you want your friend back?"

"Give him back and we'll leave!" Studio followed the woman with his eyes as she suddenly stopped before a door.

"Oh is that how you want to play?" She let out a ripple of uncontrolled hysterical laughter. "T H E N L E T ' S P L A Y." Her eyes turned a deep scarlet as she smirked to the point where her skin near her mouth tore. Her skin was melting, and she looked demonic and unreal. But that view only lasted so long because just as they were getting a good look at the woman's true form she ran down the hall as fast as she could.

"Come on!" Studio had to shove Gel to get his attention, and as soon as he did, they sprinted down after her. Legs grew from her torso and spread out to help her move faster across the floor. A trail of goo was left behind as she made her way down to a dead end. Then Gel and Studio noticed something oddly familiar about the goo. It was dark, sure. But it looked like...

"Terror!" Gel stopped himself and Studio as they looked at him. It had to be him. He wasn't back with Dreamare and wasn't at the meeting. And who doesn't know what his goo looks like.

"Finally figured it out, huh?" Terror shape shifted into his normal state as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and smiled at them. "I don't know why you let them come here. To **this** place...the Phalsorphy is easy to enter, and you were so right that it's dangerous here." He chuckled.

"Shut up," Studio clenched his teeth and pulled his paint brush from his back. Taking a few steps forward, he glared into Terror's eyes. "Where's Tanz?"

"Dead." He spoke simply. As if taking the life of another wasn't bad enough.

"What was your plan? Why did you do all of this? Why did you kill him?" Gel stepped up cautiously and looked at Terror.

"The plan was to get rid of all the competition in my way of getting to Cross. I did it because I want him with me. Not someone else. And Tanz was in the way so...yeah. Cross feels terrible and now's my chance to comfort him so he likes me." He shrugged and smiled.

"You did it all because you're a jealous, losing, evil cheater who simply wanted some guy to date you?!" Studio raised his brush before him.

"He's not just some guy-"

"Love or not, that doesn't mean you should try to wipe out your competition." Tanz limped over from behind them, gripping his broken, bleeding arm with one hand. _That's not gonna come out..._

"Tanz?! What the Hell! You should be dead!" Studio rushed over and hugged him...for no reason.

Terror stared on as they broke away and looked at him. The way Studio held Tanz that close under his arm. They didn't even know each other...and he was going to help him... "Look...I'm going, okay?" He snarled and turned away.

"You don't have to be the bad guy." Gel's words stopped him in his tracks.

"I have **nothing** left to live for."

"You have me..." Tanz pushed out Studio's grip and limped over to Terror.

"I don't know you, you don't know me. And I don't want you." He turned to face Tanz. Maybe then he could finish the fucker off.

"Look...you have family. Friends. You have everything you could ever need, and you're just gonna push it all away as if it never existed?" Tanz sighed. "You had a childhood-"

"That was Nightmare's childhood. Not mine! It's his now. I never got a chance at being a kid, and having parents. I never got to be happy. Not once. Never. I started alone, and I'll stay that way thank you very much." Terror walked over to the wall and opened a portal.

"You...you're gonna break my heart...you're gonna tear it apart...but no matter what you do...I'll always be there for you...and when you call my name...I won´t be far away...no matter where you go...you'll never be alone..." A small voice much similar to Dream's could be heard from the main room, and everyone froze to listen to it. But that's all they said. Terror closed the portal and turned around to face the hallway they had sprinted down. There was nothing but silence that stretched all across the Phalsorphy.

"Dream?" Terror walked closer to the hallway and slowly moved down it. The others looked at each other and decided to go after him out of curiosity.

"You..." This time it was another voice. Sounding much like Nightmare's this time. "You're gonna break my heart...you're gonna tear it apart...but no matter what you do...I'll always be there for you...and when you call my name...I won't be far away...no matter where you go...you'll never be alone..."

Again there was silence. Though the closer the group neared, they could all hear a quiet tune that played where they'd heard the singing. Something seemed awfully strange though. If Nightmare and Dream could talk separately...then they had to have defused.

"You..." Terror walked out into the light to see his younger siblings. "You're gonna break my heart...you're gonna tear it apart...but no matter what you do...I'll always be there for you...and when you call my name...I won't be far away...no matter where you go...you'll never be alone..."

With tears in all of their eyes they hugged close in the middle of the Phalsorphy. Tanz cried too, but his tears were out of pain mentally and physically. Studio held him close again and nodded to his brother.

"Let's go." Gel took hold of Tanz and Studio, and teleported away. 

Everything seemed happy and great. 

And finally things were working out. 

But there were still a few kinks in the system. 

There were still flaws in some codes. 

Some could be fixed easily...

but others...

were ERRORS.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the short chapter! But this is all you get! Until...I don't know. The next chapter?
> 
>  
> 
> So tell me what you think.
> 
> Be honest. 
> 
> O r e l s e.


	21. Take It or Leave It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo!!! So, been tryin' to come up with new chapter ideas. I've got 22 written down, but if you have a suggestion for a chapter as long as it has a line up with this chapter, I'd LOVE to hear it. Thanks so much for all those beautiful Kudos and Hits! It really makes my day to see that people are enjoyin' my work. I won't hold ya hostage for much longer-OMG. Hostage...hmmmm....that'll have to be a chapter. Anyway, enjoy!

"Ink, that's not gonna work. **Nothing's** going to work." Cross held back tears as he pouted. His arms crossed, he turned away in disbelief.

"Cross..." Ink walked closer and held him in a warm embrace. "I know what I said in the past was wrong, and me lying to you was wrong. But as badly as I wanted to give back your AU, there were still others who had lost there's. Don't worry though...we'll get them back this time. You'll be safe and home, and we don't even have to be friends anymore. You can just live your life normally. I'll get rid of all the horrid memories of loss and betrayal. I'll give back your life so you can be happy and worry free. I'll do it for you and you won't even have to thank me. You can just...then I'll just..." Ink sobbed as Cross went limp. He knew that's what he wanted. To forget. To move on. To go back. Cross just wanted to be home with his family. Safe and sound...

"Ink..." Cross looked up at him and pushed away. "You're an idiot. You know that?" He glared up at his friend as more and more tears fell from his eyes. "You're a big baby and you know it. You think too much and act too little...but you **are not** taking my memories away from me. I wouldn't wanna forget all that we've been through together. Is that too much to ask? I just want to be home, yes. But not forget everything I've been through since the beginning. I wanna know everything no matter what..."

Ink nodded and sniffled. "If that's what you want then..." He walked back over to Cross and leaned in close. "By the way...Tanz is upstairs..." Then he walked away from Cross and out of the house. Cross shook his head and walked to the stairs. He would at least talk with him, but he wasn't going to forgive him. But what was there to be forgiven? He never did anything wrong. But maybe...just maybe...he knew what was going to happen and didn't say a word.

"Tanz are you-" Cross was cut short when he saw Tanz sound asleep in Ink's bed. He looked so peaceful there. He looked like a poor lost child who had finally found a safe haven for himself. But everyone knew it wasn't true. Nowhere was safe, and no one with it. He sat on the bed next to him and smiled as he rested a hand on Tanz's side. His slowed breathing...

"You could end him you know..." A familiar voice rang in his head. A voice almost long forgotten. "You could let this mutt die and you wouldn't have dead weight dragging you down all the time."

"Chara..." Cross stood up from the bed and stood back.

"Oh? So you didn't forget me." His laughter sent spikes of cold down Cross's spine.

"Maybe I should've..."

"No, because then I would've taken you over and we both know it."

"This isn't right...I have my soul back, you should be gone or dead!" Cross looked around himself to find the little demon.

"You won't find me in plain sight Cross. I've found someone far weaker than you to possess. And I believe it is your fault for introducing me to him." X-Tale Chara appeared on the bed next to Tanz. He was petting him...he was going to-

"No! You won't do it! I won't let you!" Cross rushed to the bed.

"Nah, ah, ah..." Chara put a red knife to Tanz's neck. "We couldn't want a pure soul like this waste now, would we? We would both lose something important to us."

"Stop it!" Cross screamed. Hot tears pooling down his face as he clenched his fists. "I can't take much more of this...my family...my home...my friends...my brother...all taken away from me..."

"Cross you pathetic child..." He rose from the bed and crouched before his brother. He held a hand to Cross's face. "I never left you. I've stayed with you since the beginning don't you see? It's us till the end. You and me. Brothers. Together forever-"

"You're not my brother! You're a monster!" He shoved Chara away and turned to the door. Tears swam in his eyes and spilt down his face.

"Cross...I thought we were going to stick together? I thought that maybe-"

"No! I'm not living with you any longer! You've ruined my life and taken every chance at getting home back away from me! I thought I trusted you...I thought...wrong...too many times..." He fought back hard to hold onto himself. To not let go and believe that everything was alright.

"Everything alright in here?" Gel opened the door with grace as he peered in to see Tanz fast asleep, and Cross a crying wreck. There was a moment of silence that whispered it's way between them. "Come with me..." Gel took Cross's arm and lead him out of Ink's room and out into the hallway. "Who is he?"

"Who is who?" Cross sniffled.

"You know who I'm talking about. I'm talking about the ghost boy who follows you. Who is he?" Gel held a serious expression as he searched Cross's eyes for an answer. "Oh..."

"Let go of me!" Cross ripped his arm out of Gel's grip and stepped back against the wall. "Leave me alone! I don't need your help!"

"Cross, please. I'm only trying to help-"

"I D O N ' T N E E D Y O U R H E L P." And with that, Cross shot down the stairs and out the front door. But what awaited him outside can be written another time.

\-----------------------------------

"This is way too much...way too much...really. Couldn't we have taken care of these AU problems when they happened? Now everything's piled up and we have to clear it all in this short time frame." Dream sighed to himself and sunk into his chair further. Slowly being enveloped in darkness. In hate. In every negative feeling. All of it rushed towards him in a fit of anger and hatred, and then-

"Don't be silly Dream," Studio looked at Dream from across the table. "Everything's gonna work out. It always does." He tried to smile reassuringly, and luckily Dream is happy to accept anyone's generous smile.

"I'm here!" Blueberry rushed in through the doors and looked around at everyone.

"Blueberry, there you are," Ink walked over and addressed him. "We were just starting, come in." He put a hand on the small Blue's back and led him over to a seat next to Dream.

"Sorry that I have to be here at an all Star Sans meeting." Studio shrunk a little in his seat as everyone sat down and looked at him. He didn't belong there in that room. Surrounded by honourable and faithful protectors.

"Now you're the one being silly. Just because we lye under the title of Star Sanses, doesn't mean that we can't let anyone else be around us." Dream smiled at Studio.

"Well now that that's out of the way..." Ink sighed as to draw all eyes on himself. "ERROR is no longer a threat to us, and nor is Terror. Now's our chance to finish where we left off work wise...Studio, you're here to help us think up ways to bring back Alternate Universes."

"Wait...so Tearztale isn't back?" Dream shifted to sit up straight.

"No...I know we all find it strange that Dream and Nightmare had been able to defuse without the aid of Gazter, but somehow they managed to. It's rare to find two souls strong enough to break apart from a fuse, but it has happened in the past. But that is in the past as well now. We need to look into the future and focus on today. It's about time we put an end, for these people that we aid and protect, to all of their loss at their missing Universes," Ink laid a paper on the table and pushed to the middle for all to see. "This is a map of the Phalsorphy. We're going to get in there and look through the Archives to find clues as to how to bring their lives back."

"What about the Timelines?" Blueberry chimed in. "We could find all of the missing people's Timeline's and look through them to see how to reverse the effects of the erase."

"Or we could reverse time..." Studio looked at the map. "Cross has been getting better at freezing time. And the next step is time travel."

"You guys figure that out, I'm going to talk to Death about reviving the souls for the Universes for when they return." Dream stood and walked out of the room.

"Seriously? Every time Ink. You need to control him." Studio sighed and leaned on the table.

"Dream has a good plan though...he can see what to do about bringing back the dead ones, while the three of us figure out how to get the AUs back..." Ink looked at the map.

"How about one of us goes to collect the Timelines of the dead and living that have lost their AUs, and the other two can look through the Archives to find maybe a spell or something to bring back their homes?" Blueberry looked around at Ink and Studio.

"Now that's a good plan," Ink stood and pulled a pencil from his belt. Leaning over the map, he made paths to the different areas they had to visit. "Here's what we'll do..."

\------------------------------------------

"Okay everybody! Take a seat so we can get started!" ERROR looked around the room at his team. They were a team of villains. Evil people who always got what they wanted. Everyone took a seat and watched as ERROR moved to the centre of the room for instruction.

"Would ya look it that. I should've known you wouldn't leave us. Did you miss me?" Terror smirked at ERROR.

"Shut up. That's not why I'm back and you all know it," ERROR sighed and looked around at everyone. "You know why I'm here, and you know why we're all here." He held a paper and threw it into the middle of the room.

"Is that a map of the Phalsorphy?" Nightmare eyed the paper curiously with sparkling eyes.

"Indeed it is. And we're gonna break into it and take the Timelines." ERROR smirked as he watched the expressions of the people around him change to want and need. They all wanted to hurt someone. Or just simply change something within their lives.

"So you plan on breaking into the Phalsorphy and taking the Timelines? When do you plan on this?" Studio crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at ERROR.

"Tomorrow morning. When least expected."

"The Star Sanses plan to be there as well...thought you should know," Studio stood and headed to the door. "See you tomorrow then. I already know the plan." Then he walked out of the room and headed back to Studiotale. His home. His AU....well...at least he had one...

"So that's it then...we sneak in and edit people's lives...I like it..." Cross smiled evilly at the map he was reviewing. "It'll be simple not matter who's there. They can't stop us anyway...Isn't that right Chara?"

\---------------------------------

Tanz stood in the kitchen with a mug of fresh coffee. Staring outside into the night sky. The blankness of it...blank like a black canvas...blank like his Universe...like his life...blank and void of everything...nothing left but empty feelings and pain...suddenly, the front door opened and closed. It was a quiet movement. As if to sneak in and out was the objective. That was until Cross rounded the corner and met eye contact with Tanz.

"Where were you?" He set the mug down and headed over to Cross.

"None of your God damn business-" Cross tried to fight back with words, but he was completely taken by surprise when he was thrown up against the wall and Tanz looked him straight in the eyes fiercely.

"You do know whatever you say is of no worth to me...I just want you...not your words or moans or jokes...nothing but you, understood?" Tanz's only visible eyelight flickered for a second to something else. Something less unsettling. A heart perhaps. Cross nodded as he tried to comprehend the situation. But then suddenly, he awoke in the seat that he had been sitting in during the meeting. There was a blanket throw over his body to keep him warm in the cold stone room. Had it been a dream? Perhaps so.

"Hey..." Nightmare looked up at Cross from the side. He was...laying against him...

"Did I pass out?..." He rubbed an eye as he looked over at the small skeleton.

"Yeah..." Nightmare sat up straight and pushed his way out of the blanket. "Anyway, I'd better get home. It's bad enough that I stayed already." He stood and stretched, then looked over his shoulder at Cross. "You should get home too." A smile went across his face as he walked away, leaving Cross alone in the room under the blanket.

"I think he likes you." The voice behind him spoke truthfully.

"Shut up. You know who I'm after, and it's not some kid." Cross stood and folded the blanket to set it in the chair. The room suddenly became colder, but it was probably due to leaving the warmth of Nightmare and the blanket. He felt like sleeping in that warmth forever, but he had someone else to do that with.

\--------------------------------

"Cross!" Tanz flew away from the window and hugged Cross close. " There you are..." He smiled as the cold touch of the smaller skeleton started sinking in. "Come on..." He walked into the kitchen and grabbed the hot chocolate he had been drinking. They headed upstairs to Ink's room and sat on the bed. "I was really worried about you...I thought that you never made it back or you were hurt or worse..." Tanz pulled the blanket up and over Cross's shoulders as he sipped at the hot and refreshing drink. "If you're not tired, I'm sure Ink or Gel wouldn't mind if one of them were to whip up a quick meal for you." He smiled and hugged him. "You almost broke my heart there..."

"I'm sorry...." Cross finally spoke. His voice as warm as the chocolate in the mug. That's all he had to say though. Was that he was sorry. And sorry for him had so much meaning. Whenever he would say it, that would mean that he is **truly sorry**.

"Don't say that..." Tanz rested his head on Cross's arm. "Ink talked with me...he said there was a way to bring our AUs back..."

"I know..." His voice suddenly broke through the warmth with a cold icy tone. Tanz backed up and looked at him.

"Oh, well then-"

"But what if he's lying again?" Cross looked over with pained eyes.

"No...it'll be okay this time...trust me...but you have to tell me this...tell me you're willing to give up your friendships and newly grown relationships to be with your real family in your AU...."


	22. Another Star Sans?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so...I thought someone has been neglected too much recently. So here we go with a new recruit for the team. :3
> 
> Also thanks so much for all the hits and Kudos! You guys are great!

"Everyone knows which way they're going?" Ink looked back at the group behind him, in which they nodded in response. "Then let's go." Ink ran up ahead and headed to the Archive to search for something to bring back the AUs.

"Come on Blueberry." Studio ran down the hallway with Blueberry hot on his tail.

"Whelp...looks like it's just me then." Dream shrugged as he walked along. There never was a place for him to go and a role he had to fulfil. Nobody said a word to him, which was unusual for them. Maybe Studio was a replacement...or maybe it's simply because Dream's the best at keeping an eye out for things. Probably the second one. After all, who would the Star Sanses be without him? He looked around and eyed the walls, pictures, floor, and hallways with doors. There was so much to explore in the Phalsorphy, it was almost overwhelming. The sand coloured marble floors, the pearl white walls and ceiling, the elegant gold and silver frames that were hung to show off the paintings within them, the paintings all depicted times in history that took place in the near past and will take place in the near future. Some things were dusty, others were polished clean. Then Dream came along to a very fresh painting. It was still wet too. He stopped to closely examine it only to find it depicted four skeletons. They looked like Dream, Nightmare, Ink and Blueberry...but why was Nightmare there, and what were the necklaces around their necks? He shook his head moved on thinking that maybe it was just a coincidence. He suddenly came to the end of the hall. There was a large doorway trimmed with pure, shining gold. Carved within the sparkling purity was writing along with many stars that varied in size. His mouth hung open as he was quite amazed to find that it read "Star Sans History and Chronicles". He walked slowly through the space and into the room. It was bright and elegant as expected. Along the walls were glass cases containing books. Dream's eyes scanned over the everything. But then he stopped. In the centre of the room right in the back where Dream had stood was a glass case. This one much different from the others in which held books of various ages. Within the case before him were four necklaces. Each was made of a mix of silver and gold with iron chains to hold the charms in place. Each one had a different charm. One was a paintbrush lined with small stars. Another was a moon with a small star hanging from it. One with a blueberry engraved with a small star. And the last, a star with two others off of it. Dream's eyes sparkled at the sight. He looked at the case to see if there was a way to open it, and there was. A small screen on the glass appeared lightly before him. He reached a hand out, and just as he did, the glass dissipated and the necklaces were revealed. He reached a hand out and picked each of them up carefully, and placed them into a small pouch hanging from his belt.

"Dream?" Nightmare was standing at the entrance in wonder and amazement.

"Nightmare! What are you doing here?" Dream walked over to his brother and looked him in the eyes.

"I came with...wait...Studio said you'd be here. I didn't see him when we headed out...he must've been with you, Ink, and Blueberry...wait...did he tell you guys that we were coming?" Nightmare raised an eyebrow worriedly.

"Of course he didn't-uh...who's...we?..." He looked behind Nightmare to see ERROR, Cross, Tanz, and Terror. "Oh I see...you're here for the Timelines...aren't you..."

"Eyup." Terror smiled but was punched in the stomach soon after by ERROR.

"We're here to see you actually." He smiled genuinely.

"You're lost..." Dream sighed and walked in front of the open space to assume the role of leader in the situation. "Follow me..." The groups followed behind as the surroundings changed from time to time. With Dream leading, everyone else could take some time to look at the paintings or the rare cracks here and there.

"What if it's a trap?" Tanz leaned into Cross.

"That's why we're here...." Cross smiled. "You, me, Nightmare, and Dream are gonna take Terror and ERROR down."

"What now?" Terror leant in invitingly, hey oblivious at to what they were talking about.

"Get out." Tanz pushed his face away. His hand squishing in the goo.

"I'm on your side you know. I just wanted to get ERROR in trouble-"

"What? Hold on a second here...I'm the only one who truly wants to bring pain and suffering to others?" ERROR made the group stop as they fought out in the hallway.

"What's going on out here?" Ink ran out of the Archive with a pile of books in his hands. He scanned the area and saw each member of the group. "What are you all doing here?"

"ERROR wants to break the TImelines and ruin more people's lives!" Dream looked over.

"Yeah, we were just following along cause we wanted to rat him out," Terror pointed out. "Oh, and cause I could really use some friends." He smiled innocently.

Studio and Blueberry came running down the hallway and to stop at the commotion.

"What's up buttercup?" Studio was still running and picked ERROR up onto his shoulders and ran to the Star Sans room. The others caught on soon after, and went on sprinting after them.

"Let's get the books and leave!" Studio opened a portal at the end of the room as ERROR used his strings to break the glass of the cases and retrieve the books.

"ERROR! Studio! Stop!" Nightmare flew past the others in the group with a determined pace. He jumped up into the air and all at once threw Chinese ninja stars at all of the strings, and used his magic to close the portal. Studio came to a screeching halt and dropped ERROR on the ground as the rest of the group caught up. A few eyed Nightmare curiously, while the others headed in to catch ERROR and Studio.

"Nice job Nightmare," Ink smiled to him and turned to the criminals. The backstabbers. The betrayers. "Look...there have been too many times where I've trusted you ERROR. But not anymore. As for you Studio...I never would've guessed that you would turn so cruel all so suddenly. Really. I trusted you too as a brother and a friend. I wish it didn't have to come to this...but I'm sorry...Studio, I'm not letting you off the hook. ERROR's taught me that no matter who I entrust the most, and no matter how many tried I give someone...they'll never change. So, you and ERROR will share a punishment. You will stay in a cell together for one month along the outer edges of this Galegon. I'll be sure to have someone if not myself check on you periodically. You're souls I will leave to Cross to do with what he wants. Cause I can at least trust him."

They all stood in silence as the plan sank in.

"Um, excuse me?" Tanz stepped forward awkwardly. "But, you don't need to do anything like that...to me, that seems like a small punishment. They're not gonna change simply by putting them in a cell. You could always send them to Lust-"

"Nah ah! That's just messed up and weird and wrong-"

"Actually that's not a bad idea..." Ink pondered the plan for a moment. "That's what we'll do then. Though I'm thinking of sending ERROR to Jasper...if Lust finds ERROR too hostile, then I'm sure he could be trained by someone better." He smiled at the group.

"I'll take them there right now," Blueberry returned the smile. "Lust and Jasper already know not to touch me in the first place."

"Alright, but have Dream go with you for safety purposes." Ink waved them all away and turned to Cross, Tanz, Nightmare, and Terror.

"Um, before we go...could the Star Sanses have a quick meeting at seven tonight? Oh and Nightmare should come too." Dream smiled and teleported himself, Blueberry, ERROR, and Studio to Swapfell.

"Anyway...I'd like to thank you Nightmare for helping to get them, you may leave," Ink spoke directly to him as he nodded and left. "Cross, Tanz, I'll speak with you at home. Just stay there though. Maybe cook something for you two to eat." Tanz and Cross looked at each other and left without another word.

"Why'd you leave me?" Terror stayed put but followed with his eye as Ink headed over to pick up all of the books.

"Someone has to help clean up this mess." He got the ones on the left of the room and tried to put them back in chronological order within each case. Terror sighed and did the same on the opposite side. By the time he'd reached the last one, he stopped. Ink was painting the glass back into place and made his way over to the last book.

"Isn't this one weird to you?" Terror held it up for Ink to see. It had a start date, but in place of a second date next to it was an infinity symbol.

"Yeah..." He sat down beside Terror and took the book into his lap. Slowly pulling the front cover up, he peered inside to read the ancient text.

"What's that say?" Terror leaned in to try and decipher the strange symbols, but he just couldn't understand.

"It's a book on the past...it talks about this generation, the last, of Star Sanses. Me, Blueberry, Dream, and Nightmare-wait..." Ink reread the passage his eyes had just scanned over.

"What'd you say now?" He took the book from Ink and tried to read over the page. Soon he caught onto the pattern within the text and was able to read it with ease. "Oh, it does say Nightmare." He stared blankly at the page. Soon enough the thought sank in through the goo and Terror realized what that meant.

"Now do you see?" Ink took the book and read through some of the contents. Skipping from page to page. "I'll have to have Gel look over these...all of these...he looked around at the books they had just put back and encased.

"Whelp, looks like you can handle things from here," Terror said as he stood up. "Cio." Then all who were left was Ink, well...and a white cloaked pouty Reaper Sans.

"Ink," He approached at a brisk pace. "Give me some bleach resistant black ink or paint or something." He looked angry about something, but all Ink could do was laugh a little as he pulled a small brush with black paint on the tip. He wiped it across Death's cloak quickly leaving a small line. After a few seconds, the whole cloak was black again.

"Happy?" Ink put the brush away as he tried hard not to burst out into a fit of laughter.

"Ugh...seriously?! This was your fault wasn't it?" He turned away and sighed. "Well thanks for helping me, but seriously...next time you wanna bleach my cloak, warn me!" Then he walked away. Ink just sat there with the book in his lap, and laughter spilling from his mouth as tears pricked at the edge of his eye sockets. After the laugh attack, he stood and wiped the tears from his eyes. Looking around he sent the books to Gel.

_Well, that's one less thing to worry about...at least there are other people playing along with me...if that weren't true, nothing would get done...well...I'd better get home...I hope the kitchen isn't on fire..._

\----------------------------

"These are the best cupcakes ever..." Tanz continued to stare at the vanilla cupcake delicately put together with a thick layer of creamy rainbow frosting spread across the top.

"You gonna eat that?" Cross leaned over and stared wide eyed at the cupcake, then turned to Tanz who laughed a bit.

"God...you're as messy as a baby." He smiled as he wiped icing from Cross's face and licked it off his fingers.

"So I can have it?" Cross didn't care about anything but the cupcake. So that move Tanz just made never registered.

"Here..." Gel slid another cupcake across the table and down to Cross. His eyes lit up with joy as he peeled the pastel wrapper from the cake and licked the icing clean off. Tanz and Gel laughed at the sight. Maybe Cross wasn't meant to be with him...maybe he was more like his guardian...

"I'm back!" Ink closed the door behind him as he walked over to the group in the kitchen

"Think fast Ink!" Gel chucked a cupcake at his brother as he came into sight. Ink smirked and quickly caught the small pastry right by his face as it just barely made a scratch.

"Food fight!" Terror threw a chocolate bar at Cross's head.

"Hey!" Ink turned around to find that Terror had already made it to the other side of the kitchen, and was stuffing his face with Gel's cupcakes.

Cross wiped his face off and picked up the bar of deliciousness. Tanz watched as his eyes were as big and sparkly as a star.

"Should he be having chocolate?" Tanz asked wearily. But his question could not be answered. Gel was trying to rip Terror away from the sweets, and Ink was enjoying a cupcake lazily without a care in the world.

"I'll save it for later..." Cross stuffed it in his back pocket and hopped down from the chair. "Come on..." He took hold of Tanz's sleeve and headed to a portal a few feet away.

"Hey!!!" Dream popped out of it with a stack of clothes. "You guys never got these back...I thought that I'd return them to you." He smiled as they took the clothes and ran upstairs to finally change and be free of the unnatural ones that they had put on a few days ago.

"Heya Dream!" Ink smiled as he wiped frosting from his mouth and headed through his own portal. "See you at the meeting later." He winked as he fell through to...wherever it was he was going...

Dream headed into the kitchen from his spot near the stairs. He closed the portal and almost laughed when he saw Terror stuffing his face with cupcakes and refusing to stop as Gel tried to coax him to. Finally, Gel shook his head and let Terror eat them. He waved hello to Dream as he walked by.

"What are you doing?-"

"Here!" Terror threw one at his half brother.

"Okay then...I don't see what the big fuss is over this little thing...but I'll try it." He shrugged and licked at the icing. His eyes lit up with happiness and love at the sweetness of the sugar topping. He quickly finished it, but right when he was about to ask for another for Studio, Terror had already eaten them all.

"Sorry..." He spoke truthfully and hung his head. He wiped the frosting from his mouth and walked up to Dream.

"Keep your distance." Dream spoke with a demanding tone as he pulled his staff from his back. Terror flinched at the words and looked up to meet his gaze. It was a warning look. But why?

"Dream-"

"No! Don't you Dream me. You know what you did. Right when she left us, and right when he died, you 'took care of me'. Then when Nightmare came back, you 'took care of us'. You didn't care, and you still don't!" Dream teleported him and Terror back home so they could talk in private.

"Dream..." He took another step forward as a tear broke free from his eye.

"So...you do care...or is it just an act?" Dream looked up from the ground at his brother.

"Dream please!" Terror looked on through blurry vision. "I do care! And I'm sorry! I was dumb and you didn't deserve the pain that was given! I'm sorry!" He cried and shook as the tears kept falling.

"Terror..." Dream dropped his staff and approached slowly. "I'm the one who should be sorry...I should've forgiven you for all of that a long time ago..." Terror shook his head as Dream hugged him. It was as if they really had forgiven each other. But then Dream pushed Terror away, picked up his staff and glared at him. "But I will never forgive you now...it's way too late for sorry...for forgiveness." He spoke through his pain as suddenly they both turned to the front door of their home.

"Dream? Terror? Seriously...you two need to stop this," He walked over and took them both into a warm embrace. "Dream and I have to go to a meeting, stay here and clean up or something...keep yourself occupied, alright?" He, Nightmare, smiled reassuringly. Something he never did. He was negative. Evil. He shouldn't be able to do that, but then again Dream shouldn't feel pain, or hate, or sadness. He let go of them and took Dream's hand. "See you in a bit." He smiled at Terror. It was a real smile. That was weird...but Terror liked it. He smiled back as they left. But then he was left alone. He was stuck with the memory of Nightmare being nice...being...what Dream should be...speaking of which...Nightmare had been acting like Dream, while Dream had been acting like Nightmare...what if when they'd defused...

"Crap..."

\------------------------

"Hey everyone!" Dream skipped in optimistically, in great contrast compared to how he'd been acting before they'd left. He smiled brightly at Ink and Blueberry.

"Hi..." Nightmare stepped in shyly and tried to avoid everyone's eye contact.

"Hey," Ink walked over and put an arm around Nightmare. "No need to be shy you know..." He smiled and led him into the room with the other two.

"Okay...so what's up?" Blueberry looked at Dream, who had called the meeting in the first place."

"While we were in the Phalsorphy, I found these..." Dream pulled the necklaces from the pouch at his belt and held them out by their iron chains. The sparkled in the light. He handed the paintbrush to Ink, the blueberry to Blueberry, the moon to Nightmare, and held onto the star one for himself. "They're Star Sans necklaces."

"What?" Nightmare said as he slid it over his head and it fell to rest on his chest, hanging from his neck.

"Yeah, you're a Star Sans Nightmare!" Dream smiled excitedly.

Blueberry jumped up and down. "Yay! Another member to help us take down evil!"

Ink just half smiled. He knew this was coming, but he didn't expect it to happen like this...


	23. Too Much to Handle Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! Thanks soooooooooo much for the 500+ hits and 20+ Kudos!!! EEEEEEEEEE! 
> 
> Sorry about not posting sooner, life's been really busy. Hopefully my schedule will clear up now that Halloween's over and I don't need to work on much but HW and if any projects come up. 
> 
> And again if you have any social media's, you can follow me on Instagram by the name of just_hay. That's my main account for most things such as my personal life and more. I might be doing some make up tutorial's on Sans's and other characters over my next big school break. 
> 
> Oh hey and find me on Tumblr for art and more by LBHTA14. If you can't find me that way, look for lazybonezhaytheartist14.
> 
> If you wanna see some cool art Undertale based, check me out as Hay on the Undertale Amino app or whatever. lol. You could also look up Tearztale in the app to get a direct link to my account. 
> 
> I think I've wasted enough of your time, so here ya go! Chapter 23!

The room was warmer than usual. Some would say it was from the heat being turned on, but the furnace was off. It was just body heat from all of the people sitting at the table. It had been decided that they, as in the most important people, would talk about the resurrection of the destroyed AUs. Sitting at the head of the table, slouched over and stressed was Ink. Although he was the leader and he was supposed to push on a good attitude, he wasn't up for it that day. Next to him was his brother Gel, who looked unbothered by the negative atmosphere around him. Next to him sat Dream, he was leaning on the table rather sadly, rolling a small ball with a heart on it back and forth with one hand. Blueberry, however, was arguing with Cross about how Universes were more than just simple drawings on paper. Cross was soon to lose that battle considering even Ink said that there was more than what meets the eye. Death and Terror tried to talk normally, but since there past history had been an avalanche, they'd decided to keep quiet around one another, or ignore each other once and for all. But Tanz...the one sitting quietly...just looking down at his phone...staring...blankly at the text from that morning...that text meant something...right? Maybe he should tell Ink and the others? But then something bad might happen and the return process might take even longer. But wasn't it important? A sign that meant something? Maybe ERROR's doing it to mess with him...but that text...it's words were so finely described and full of-

"Everybody calm down!" Ink finally spoke up and sighed. Rubbing his skull he looked to Death. "Have you found everyone that died when the AUs were destroyed?"

Death slowly turned to face him. "Actually, and quite surprisingly...I haven't. I searched the death bank first, then I asked around the Systematic LVs...there wasn't a trace of them."

"Did you check with Life?" Terror smiled, obviously amused.

"They're not dead, but if they're alive, then they're being kept somewhere..." Death sighed and stared down at the table. He was just about ready to pack up and leave. All they needed to know was if they were dead and where were they, but now things have changed, and he had no reason to stay involved. "Can I go now?" He asked childishly.

Ink waved him away and let out a sigh of his own. "If they're not dead...then where are they?..." Ink looked down in thought as Death stood and left the room.

"I don't know if I can help much with this..." Blueberry looked around at everyone. "I'm really sorry, but there's not much I can do to help with these sorts of things."

"What you lack in one thing, is a one up in another..." Terror watched Dream as he rolled the ball back, and forth.

"You can go too..." Ink said expressionlessly. Blueberry stood silently and left without a sound.

"I'll go read those books to see if they help...maybe I could find something about AUs being destroyed and find out where people go after that..." Gel leaned forward a little.

"Sure, go ahead..." Ink sounded like he was beginning to give up. And maybe he was. Gel's eyes softened as he stood and left. He felt bad for his brother. Protecting the AUs was starting to get a little more stressful, and it was noticeable to everybody that Ink was crashing under the pressure.

Terror looked around and stood. "Look...I'm gonna search through the Timelines and figure out what happened." Then he left too.

"Dream? Ink? Cross?" Tanz looked up from his phone wearily and looked around the table. "I don't know if it's ERROR doing this, or if someone has my brother's phone..." At that point, even Ink looked up curiously. Everyone held their breath in anticipation. "But...he messaged me this morning at three..." He looked back at his phone for a brief moment. And sure enough, there was the text. The proof that stated that they may not have died. That maybe they're stuck somewhere like the text says.

"What? You didn't say anything sooner?" Cross leaned over and peered down at the screen. "Oh, my stars...you're right..."

"Let me see...if it's not personal..." Ink got up and walked over. Maybe, just maybe he could finally get a break and send others out to perform the search and rescue mission. Maybe there was a chance. There was time. Things could go back to normal again...Tanz handed his phone to Ink and watched as his eyes moved across the screen. He set the phone down. "Mind if maybe I let someone look at this? Your phone may be able to pick up the coordinates of the phone that sent the message..." Ink looked to Tanz.

"As long as I get it back when you're done and you don't look at anything else on there." Tanz stood with Cross as they watched Ink slip the phone into his pocket.

"Dream?...I know this is off topic but...what is that?" Cross looked at the ball. The little blue ball with a dark blue heart on it. He'd been rolling it around forever so it seemed.

"Oh uh this right," Dream rushed to the other side of the table and presented the ball out in his hands. "This little thing holds all of a person's happy memories, thoughts, and dreams."

"Woah..." Cross went to touch it, but Ink slapped his hand away. He took it back and stood there guiltily.

"If you touch it, you can see everything inside of the ball. But I won't let you..." Dream put the ball into a small bag on his belt.

"So, who's was that?" Tanz looked at the bag for a moment. Wondering if Dream had seen his and his brother's happy memories and dreams. He wondered if Dream knew what pain he's been through and how he handles all that.

"Umm...no one's..." Dream cleared his throat, which sounds pretty cute with his high pitched voice. "Anyway...I'll try to see if Nightmare has any incoming nightmares from any of the missing people. I know there's no dreams or memories that have shown up, but negativity is Nightmare's duty to keep track of, and that's probably what's being made off of those gone."

"Dream's right. And go ahead and check. Me and them need to talk about some things..." Ink looked at the three as Dream smiled and skipped off.

"Actually, uh...I need to go do something really quickly..." Cross walked back slowly at first, then ran off down a few hallways.

"He'll be back...I think..." Tanz watched as Cross ran off and turned to Ink. "Soooo..."

"Ugh...seriously? What do you want?" Cross growled as X-Tale Chara appeared before him.

"You can't be talking with them! As badly as you need your Universe-uh...our Universe back, we are not sharing an alliance with them. They'll just drag us down again, and we will never get home, ever!"

"What's going on out here?" Asriel walked over from a room across the hall. He looked between Chara and Cross. So he can see Chara...

"Nothing." Cross said flatly as his ghost of a brother disappeared. He crossed his arms and went to head back into the meeting room, but Asriel grabbed hold of his arm.

"Don't go back in there...I've got it."Asriel looked Cross in the eyes.

"What about-"

"Tanz is back home, and we're dealing with the AU situation..." He let go of Cross's arm and headed into the room, closing the large doors behind him. Cross grunted as he kicked at the ground for a bit. A thought about sneaking in somehow and watching them came across his mind, but he and Ink were friends-

"Seriously Cross? You're still here?" Nightmare walked over quickly and searched his face for a moment. "Look, you should get home. No one's supposed to be out since...well..." Nightmare looked down briefly.

"Since...what?" Cross raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Another AU has gone missing, not destroyed, but missing...I'll tell you more if you come with me." He urged Cross on into a portal into Dreamtale. The two stood in Nightmare's room. The scent of candles floated through the air, it's surprising sweetness hit Cross immediately. It was strange because everyone knew that Nightmare hated sweet things, but here in his room was the scent of candied apples.

"An AU was destroyed a few minutes ago, so that's why Ink and Asriel are holding an emergency meeting right now. They're trying to figure out where the AUs are going, and who is responsible for the actions," Nightmare poured a cup of tea and offered it to Cross. He took the cup, gladly accepting it and taking sips as he listened to Nightmare. "None of the 'destroyed' AUs are actually gone. They're still out there...somewhere...and Asriel and Ink are after them. Anyway..."

Cross set the cup down and leaned against the wall. His vision swimming before him. "Uh...N...ight...mare?..." He fell on the floor holding his head as static filled his head.

"Shh..." Nightmare walked over to Cross and smiled sinisterly. "Just enjoy your nightmare."

\----------------------

Dust and Horror watched from the shadows of Snowdin's woods. Their eyes following their target as he walked to his sentry station. Their smirks growing in excitement as the prey sat at the bench. Sans let out a sigh, letting his breath steam in the air as it left his mouth slowly. Horror pushed Dust forward. He stumbled with noisy crunches in the snow, causing Sans to look back. There were just footprints. He shrugged it off and pulled out his phone. One missed call from his brother....he took a shortcut home and looked to Grillby's for a moment.

"Thinkin' about getting some grub?" Horror appeared with Dust a few feet away from Sans in front of the bar. He smiled wildly as e gripped the butcher's knife at his side. The sound of his bones crunching at the pressure wavered through the air.

"Sans, ma man...mind comin' with us for a minute or two?" Dust's voice was sharp and crisp as he tossed a knife back and forth between his hands. His eyes locked onto the target.

"We're not gonna let you have him without a fight asshole!" Chara ran over in front of Sans and summoned 12 red knives around her.

"Chara! Wait!" Firsk ran out and stood beside her sister. She looked across the battlefield and summoned a pink and rose gold sword.

"Mind if I join?" Grillby walked over casually and looked on at the opponents. Sans looked on as his family stood their ground. They were protecting him. They were going to help him and save him. They were too kind. And that's why...

"Oh I see," Dust laughed. "You're not going down without a fight, but you need these weak toddlers to protect you?" He laughed again. "How pathetic." He snarled. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the dagger flying through the air at Frisk, hitting her dead in the arm. "Oh I'm sorry, am I too fast for you?" He teased.

"Frisk!" Sans reached forward, but quickly pulled back when she glared at him. Frisk looked down at her wound, then up at Dust.

"We'll see who's too fast." She clenched her teeth and ran forward. _Screw any code of honour. I'm gonna slice this guy's head in half._ Swinging her sword forward, it magically reversed, sticking out of the snow, blade up to her chest. Stabbing through her, the cold sword stained red with her blood.

"Frisk!!!" Sans, Chara and Grillby called out to her. But it was too late. They looked at her as she sank into the blade.

"Grillby....I need you to go...what you're about to miss...isn't gonna be pretty..." Chara summoned 28 more spinning red knives at her sides as she glared on at her targets. Tears falling from her eyes quickly. Grillby nodded and teleported away, leaving Dust, Horror, Sans, and Chara.

"You're gonna regret doing that..." She looked back for a moment at Sans. Wondering if what she was about to do was right. But deep within her soul, she already knew the answer.

S t o p a t n o t h i n g t o k i l l t h e m .

Sans could only stand there in shock as the three fought. There was nothing he could do to stop them. But didn't he want revenge? Frisk had just been killed by Dust, and he and Horror were winning the fight against the last chance he had. The last chance **they** had. There was blood staining the snow. Would that stay there until it melted? Would it melt into the Earth and stain it too? Would that be a memory left long forgotten? Maybe he would place flowers there in memory of his lost loved ones. He really did love them. They were his siblings fighting for him. Dying for him. Where was Papyrus? _I hope everyone will be okay without me. I hope they'll remember how great Frisk and-_

"Come on, move!" Horror smiled devilishly as he took hold of Sans roughly.

_They're gone..._

"That was easier than expected." Dust said as he licked his dagger clean of the blood. The blood of Sans's family.

_I let them die...I did this to them...it's all my fault they died like this..._

Sans stood his ground and looked on blankly. His eye sockets dark pits. Nothing but a black soulless stare.

"Move it!" Horror attempted to shove him out of the way, to move, flinch, anything.

"Let's just teleport out of here...I've gotta bad feeling about hangin' around here longer..." Dust looked around after hearing shuffling from somewhere. Worriedly, he grabbed hold of Sans and Horror and left.

"Sans! Frisk! Chara! I'm home-" Papyrus dropped the basket he had in his arms and put his gloved hands to his mouth in complete horror and shock.

\--------------------------------------

His pillow was soaking wet with his tears. Nothing could end the pain he was enduring. People were disappearing without a known cause. AUs were popping out of place even though ERROR was held captive. There were so many secrets. So many rocks unturned, that it hurt. His bones shook with a force only he knew. His body wracked with depression, anxiety, worry, fear. It was all too overwhelming for him. He'd protected the AUs for so long, and all of the stress had built to a boiling point, the water finally spilling out and leaking into his bed sheets. He worried for everyone, everything, yet didn't have a moment to himself. Though he had plenty of lonely moments, this time was so different. He hadn't cried since two decades ago. When Dream tried to commit suicide. But now, he had a moment to release all of his stored up emotions. But no one but him knew that side of himself. Only he knew of his own pain. Or so he thought...he'd almost forgotten about two other people who would understand. Two people that don't mean to be invasive, but they do it cause it's their job. He thought about Dream and Nightmare. Thought about how they had tried so hard for everyone but nobody ever noticed. Thought about how much work they had to do and the situations they had to put up with. He worried for them, for his friends, family, loved ones. But never once did he put himself first. He may have felt the worst in the world, but his was ending anyway. His life collapsing and deteriorating before him. His mind collapsing. Everything losing purpose. But he had to keep going. Keep protecting. For everyone else, he lived through the suffering. He could feel it when people had died a few moments ago. Every time someone or something kicks the bucket, pain wracks his body, and screams fill his head. He tried so hard to hide his pain. His suffering. But there he was. Still alive.

"Ink?" Gel was sitting next to his brother. A hand on his shoulder, holding firmly. Reassuringly. Had he noticed? Had others noticed? He thought he'd had his emotions hidden. Had they come out during the meeting and the news spread like wildfire? Did everyone know that he was breaking down?

Ink sniffled and peered up at Gel from his pillow. All he could do was stare up at him guiltily. He felt terrible for letting others see his weakness. See that he wasn't fit to be a protector. A leader. Or anything. He was just there to be depressed. He shouldn't be there. But he was. He was there and he was dying and crying and he was a wild mess.

"Hey...it's okay....we'll get things straightened out while you rest. You need it..." Gel rubbed his arm gently, trying to help him relax. There wasn't too much he could do to help him, but whatever he could do he was going to. "I already have a plan to bring the AUs back, we can deal with criminals later-"

"You found a way?!" Ink sat up quickly, hitting Gel in the head. Both of them rubbed their skulls and looked at each other, laughing. "Sorry." Ink said, looking down embarrassed.

"Yeah anyway...be more careful. Also, you're resting not helping-"

"I'm the one protecting the AUs, so I'll be the one to bring them back," Ink went to get out of bed, but lifted the blanket up to his neck instead. "You don't think you can leave for a second, could you?" Ink laughed a little embarrassed at his choice of actions. Maaaayyybbbbeee taking off his shirt wasn't the best idea, but having it off made Ink more comfortable and made him feel freer. Gel rolled his eyes and stood to leave.

"As long as you make it quick. We're gonna have to host a meeting to share the news." Gel left without another word, leaving Ink to hop out of bed on light feet. He quickly changed and went to flip the wet pillow over so nobody would notice his tears, but as he did, he'd noticed two small pictures beneath it. He lifted them out, setting the pillow back down. One looked somewhat new, the other was a little torn. The torn one depicted Cross, his brother Chara, his sister Frisk, his other brother Papyrus, His father Gaster, and...a skeletal woman that must've been his mother.

_He had a family. Probably a good life too. Cross might've been happy then, but ever since ERROR took that away...he's been...getting better...hope? Wait this is his picture...maybe I should get it back to him...but this other one..........._

Ink stared down at the newish image. There in the picture, the sun was shining and Tanz stood happily, grinning ear to ear next to Zapyruz, Frizk, Zara, Gazter, and Medinza. Ink wiped a bony finger across the surface. Their names on the back, the year-AND HOLY COW THE DATE AND ALL OF THEIR AGES. Ink stuffed the pictures away and teleported out into the hallway. Grabbing a tight hold on his brother's arms, he looked into his eyes nervously.

"Were're Tanz and Cross."

\------------------------------------

"CCCCRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ink threw him down to the ground and shoved Tanz's picture in his face.

"INK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT IS THIS WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" Cross stared up at the picture, still unsettled after being attacked. Tanz walked over curiously, finding Cross's picture of his family on the ground. He examined it, then saw what picture Ink was holding.

"Hey, give that back!" Tanz pushed Ink off of Cross with only enough force to get him away. Pulling the picture from him, he looked at it then at Ink. "Why'd you have this?" He glared at him with hate.

"It was under a pillow in my room. So was the other one," Ink sighed and sat up. "Look, I didn't mean to be invasive, but I just wanted to give them back to you."

"What we're asking Cross about?" Tanz handed Cross's picture to him as he continued to look at Ink.

"The dates on the picture...they're on the same day..." Ink looked between Cross and Tanz. But not even they could think straight about rose words. These pictures were taken on the same day...what was that supposed to mean?!

"...so it's a coincidence," Cross shrugged as he took the picture and stuffed it away. He pulled Tanz away from Ink and looked him in the eyes. "I'm sure it was nothing. It was just a really pretty spring afternoon is all."

Tanz eyed Cross. They both just stared at each other. As if the same thing was going on in their AUs at the same time. Ink stood and wiped himself off. They all stood in a strange silence. All unsure of if that meant anything.

"Well hey, I've gotta go host a meeting, so by!" Ink quickly ran back off and hopped through a puddle of paint. Cross and Tanz turned to each other.

"Just a coincidence, right?" Tanz slipped the picture into a wallet and looked at it for a while. Just, staring down at the other pictures, smiling. Oh how he missed those times...how he wanted to go back to the good old days where everyone was safe and sound, and he had a fun job and life that never would've had to end if it weren't for ERROR Sans...

\------------------------------------

_"Tanz! Tanz!" Frizk was sprinting over to her older brother with something small in her hand. Her backpack swaying back and forth, causing her to sort of run waddle. Her cute little face with rosy cheeks and nose from the bitter winter. The small bell on her hat bouncing around and jingling. Darn was she cute..._

_"Frizk!" Tanz crouched down in the snow, his arms wide open for a hug. She bolted right into him. "Oof! Hey easy kiddo, you might just kill me. Heh heh." He smiled and picked his sibling up. Still smiling and holding her close in his arms, he walked to the front door and headed inside. The door closed quietly as Tanz began to help Frizk take off her coat, snow pants, etc. Taking off her gloves, the small object she was holding fell to the ground. "What's this?" He picked it up to examine it._

_"I made it for you." Frizk smiled brightly up at her older brother as he held onto the small ornament. On it was a picture of her and Tanz, playing in the snow. Blue-purple tears pricked at the edge of his eyes. He smiled as he pulled his sister over and kissed her on the head._

_"Thank you..." He said it with lots of love and meaning, though he knew Frizk wouldn't understand. She was too young to process the words right. Too young to know the true meaning of love. But that didn't hurt Tanz. He understood the circumstances._

_"There you are," Zapyruz walked over cheerfully as usual. He wasn't like other Papyrus's. He was more on the quiet side rather than obnoxious. Not that...every Papyrus was...anyway, he crouched down and hugged his little sister. Smiling, he whispered in her ear. "I made breakfast for dinner."_

_Frizk jumped up with joy as she shot out of her brother's arms, and ran to the kitchen. Zapyruz stood back up and smiled, then turned to his brother. "You're back too then," He lowered his voice. "How'd the interview go?"_

_"Well for starters, the daycare isn't too interested in hiring me, but the owner did recommend that I take college classes to end up being a police officer. I'm not too sure about the whole idea of me being a cop. I just wanna spend time with kids, or saving them, or protecting them." Tanz sighed._

_"Hey, at least try the classes out. Didn't you get a scholarship for that stuff? You should at least try it out for a bit. If you don't like it I'm sure you'll find something else you love." Zapyruz smiled reassuringly and patted Tanz on the shoulder._

_"Alright...I'll try it for a week. But I highly doubt there's another job out there for me," Tanz spoke pessimistically as he was dragged into the kitchen to eat. "Hey, where's everybody else?" He made Frizk's plate. Scrambled eggs, half a piece of toast, one butter coated pancake, and two strips of bacon. Though she was small, she was a handful, and one heck of an eater. Really. Everyone in the family bet that she could beat anyone in a food eating competition. He set the plate down for her as she dug in right away._

_"They headed downtown for...something. I'm not exactly sure. They never said a word to me other than to watch the kids." Zapyruz made his own plate and sat down at the table, trying not to stare as Frizk was almost completely done with her meal._

_"Kids? Who else is here?" Tanz finished preparing his own plate as he headed over to the table and took a seat._

_"You know Azriel. Always running away from home and ending up back here...this is...a safe place for him I guess. I mean he visits an awful lot now since we told him he could come whenever he wanted. It just makes me wonder what goes on in his life that makes him want to get away from home so badly..." Zapyruz cut his pancake up thoughtfully. It was really strange that the young prince would run from home every day. It made people worry for him._

_"I'll go check on him...who's room is he in?" Tanz lifted his plate and took it with him to the staircase, waiting for a response. But Zapyruz didn't answer. They both knew where he was, Tanz just wanted to make sure. Heading up the stairs, he entered his room and closed the door behind him. The smell of warm breakfast woke the young Azriel out of his slumber. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Hey there Az." Tanz walked over with a smile on his face as he flicked the lamp on. Setting the plate on the bed side table, he took a seat on the bed._

_"Hi Tanz..." Azriel smiled a little bit, still drowsy from sleep. He eyed the plate of warm food for a moment. "Is that for me?" He looked back at Tanz wide eyed and curious._

_Who else would it be for?" Tanz smiled and ruffled the fur atop the goats head. "Go on, eat up." He couldn't help but feel bad as he saw Azriel eat the meal up quickly. It was as if he hadn't eaten since the other day. He seemed so thankful though. So happy that he was blessed with food and a part time home. No. Az ad spent so much time there in that house in Znowdin for so long that it practically was his home._

_"Thanks so much-" He turned to Tanz and buried his face in his hoodie. "Big brother," He immediately realized his mistake and backed up. "I....I'm sorry," Azriel spoke with tears in his eyes. He was afraid he had made a mistake. He didn't even mean to say that._ _"_

_Hey," Tanz tried to stay calm about the situation. Only his little sister Frizk called him that. Now the prince of the Overworld was calling him his older brother. Sighing, he moved over to Azriel and took him into a warm embrace. "It's okay........little brother." He smiled with tears in his eyes as Azriel hugged him tighter than anyone ever had before....................................all those happy times. Happy memories...everything was full of joy and optimism. Although there were tough times where Tanz was feeling down and had lost all hope, there was still the memories. All of the joy never would leave him. Was it all that? Or was it all the illusion......love?_

\------------------------------

"Ink! We've gotta problem..." Dream said with tears in his eyes.

"Dream!" Ink ran down the hall to his teammate, friend, and so much more. "What is it? What's wrong?" He hugged the little skele close, and rubbed his back comfortingly.

 "It's Sans...he's been...kid napped...Dust and Horror took him to a cell in Asylumtale, and they...they killed..." Dream took in a shaky breath. "Chara and Frisk..." He continued to cry as Ink backed up and wiped a few tears from his eyes.

"Shhhh...Dream, I know how you feel, me and the others will go after them. I need you to stay here and keep watch. Who knows what their plan is..." Ink kissed his forehead lightly and ran off.

"Idiot..." Dream smirked and wiped the false tears from his face. He almost wanted to laugh at how naive Ink had acted. Even if the tears were partly real, it wasn't the thought of how Chara and Frisk had died, it was instead a forced kind of sadness since positive energy had been erased. His eyes went a sinister black as he smirked insanely. He was going to get away with soooo much. And it was all because everyone believed his innocent act. "Oh don't worry Dream, I didn't forget about you. But **they** sure did." He laughed hysterically. Glitching from himself to a sadder, crying Dream, but then quickly glitching back to the insane one.

"Oh this is gonna be **fun**."


	24. Too Much to Handle Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the last ending??? XD
> 
> Enjoy. Mwah ha ha haaaa!

"Thanks for the lift." ERROR smirked as he was let down by Horror's levitation.

"Why'd you break us out anyway?" Studio hopped down and looked at Dust.

"We're on the same team...remember?" Dust walked over and looked at Sans through the bars. "Besides, someone has to lead us and help finish the plan." He smirked until a loud noise from within the cell could be heard. Before anyone could look in and see what had happened, they were knocked out cold.

"Nice job Blueberry," Ink hopped through the hole in the wall and looked around. "Nightmare, you get the criminals. Blueberry, get Sans. I'll see you back at HQ later. I've got something to do." Once given orders, they got to work and Ink left. But not everyone had been knocked out by the blast.

"Hey you! Get back here!" Nightmare pulled out his ninja stars and sprinted down the hall. The figure appeared to be wearing a cape. Come to think of it...

\----------------------------

"Shit..." Horror rubbed his head as the pain sank in. Looking around, he could see that Blueberry and Studio were standing. They were in the IDMR, or Inter Dimensional Meeting Room.

"Look, I'm sorry about before. I thought...well...I don't know what I thought. But I'm here now and I'm on your side. I promise." Studio glanced over at the others on the floor.

"Break the promise and I'll break your heart," Blueberry announced cheerfully. He smiled at Horror. Like that wasn't creepy at all. "Don't try to do whatever it is you were going to do ever again, got me?" He was still smiling. Like a little creep. What was wrong with him?

"O-okay." Horror said as he teleported away. He knew not to wreck havoc outside of home now. But he would still keep up with his head dog business.

"You can go home Studio. I'll take it from here. After all, they know to listen to me. I'm the Multiverse's prized possession." Blueberry winked.

"If you say so." Studio left without another word. It was just Dust and ERROR left on the floor now. Their breathing was ragged and blood stained their front sides. But no one else would know but themselves and Blueberry. No one but them...

\---------------------------

"You're gonna lose again if we fight." Dream smiled as tears ran down his expressionless face. He was losing himself too soon.

"Dream..." Nightmare walked forward. Standing just a few feet away.

"No...you know...don't you... _help me_...you know what's going on...right?" Dream smiled a bit, but something else made him do that. Or someone else. It was as if he was possessed or being controlled by some puppet master.

"Dream this isn't you...I can help. I'll go get Ink-"

"Will you two cut it out? What's gotten into you, Dream? Gonna be like the other kids? Lately, every single one's been affected by the glitch." Terror appeared between them, his eye resting on the ground.

"What are you talking about? If that were true, how come I'm not affected?" Nightmare looked on at the two of them wide eyed.

"The glitch only affects what it can...and only one person can stop it." Terror looked up and smiled wildly. His gooey mouth dripped with the black residue he was made from. His pupil narrowed in on Nightmare. It was all going to end for him. Everything.

"Stop!" Blueberry ran over with a small bottle in his hand. "Dream over here! Nightmare run while you still can!" He kept getting closer and closer, but would he make it?

"Toss the antidote! I can get to him faster!" Nightmare looked back for Dream, who was being held by Terror.

"Get out of here! If you don't-"

\----------------------------

"Woah..." Ink stared up at the ceiling. He blinked a bunch of times as Vlare took the screen away.

"That's what would have happened if you looked at the pictures." Vlare put the screen away and turned to the protector.

"We got lucky then..." Ink sighed and sat up.

"Cross changed it you know. Changed time. You weren't supposed to be at that meeting today, but since you defied everything, now you have a better life." She smiled and hopped off the bed.

"It's still so weird though...that he did that...and I didn't remember a thing until you brought this up. Thank you." Ink eyed her as she walked to the door.

"Remember that you owe me a cake." Then she left. It was all because of Cross reversing time and changed a few decisions. It was when Ink saw the pictures that things began to change. He held onto them instead of running after Tanz and Cross to hand them back. For some reason, it was like Cross knew something Ink didn't. As though he knew that bad things would come from it. The truth is, he really needed to talk to Cross when it was all over. He slid out of bed and ran downstairs. He was about to spill everything that he had been told by Vlare, but then he remembered that he couldn't say a peep. SO he just stood there awkwardly for a moment. Just staring at everyone in the living room. Smiling, he sighed.

"I'd like to gladly announce that we will be executing plan BBTAUs tomorrow morning," They all cheered in thrill. It was great news that the AUs were gonna be brought back since they had been found, deep within in the Void near Errortale. "In honour of the great move, well..." Ink looked down for a moment, stretching the anticipation thin. "We'll have a party!" Everyone yipped and smiled. It was getting to that time where they should all celebrate and have a little fun. But to have it hosted before the big day seemed a little like bad timing. Who knows how many people will be hung over after that night. It was a bad idea, but they were all risk takers.

"I'll get the drinks!" Blueberry hopped up from his spot on the floor next to Dream.

"Nah ah. Not after last Christmas." ERROR laughed a little as he pulled Blue back down and had him sit in his lap.

"So, who's ready to celebrate?" Ink surprisingly was a little nervous about the whole party idea, but even he knew that there had to be something to ease their anxiety and help cope with their excitement. Death stood and headed into the kitchen with Terror hot on his tail to get the drinks. The two kind of bumped into each other as they tried to open the refrigerator door at the same time.

"Sorry." They both mumbled the apology quickly as Death went in and took out a few glass bottles. Terror took each one carefully and set them onto the island in the kitchen. The cycle repeated for a while until Death stood back and Terror closed the door. Death took out glasses as Terror opened the drinks up. Rum, beer, brandy, whiskey, vodka, and wine. Terror even pulled out his own drink meant for the little ones who weren't tough enough for the alcohol, sparkling. Death came over with the glasses as they both poured everyone a glass of what they asked. Gel got wine, Ink got brandy, Dream got sparkling, Tanz got vodka, Blueberry insisted that he have whiskey, ERROR got rum, Studio and Cross got beer, and then it came down to Nightmare...

"Oh come on, I'm old enough to drink." He glared at Terror angrily.

"And you want your first drink now? And you want vodka? Nah ah buster." Terror set Nightmare's glass down.

"You're not the boss of me. Plus, I can do whatever I want anyway," He reached for his glass and the bottle of vodka. "Besides...it would be pure torture to have me suffer through drinking that silly and childish crap. It's too sweet and bubbly." He finished pouring and set the bottle down. Then he just walked off. Terror sighed and turned to Death. Both of them immediately looked away and instead at the drinks on the counter. Reaching out at the same time, their hands both touched the rum. Ripping their hands away, they blushed and held their hands close to their bodies.

"You can have it." They said in unison. If it weren't for their obvious difference in looks, some might say the two were Siamese twins.

"No, you take it," They turned around and sighed. "I'll just make a martini." Both stopped there. Absolutely stunned at their choice of words. They were acting like two computers which were synced with the highest performance of networking. There wasn't a split second difference between the two.

"Okay, look, wise guy," Terror broke the cycle of repeated words. "You can have the damn rum, I'll just have somethin' else." He lifted a beer to his mouth and took a swig.

"Fine. But don't even think about this moment ever again or I swear on everyone's grave that I'll reap you while you're wide awake. And trust me when I say that'll only be fun for me and whoever's watching." Death poured himself a glass of the fought over drink quickly and headed back into the living room. Terror grunted as he went in after him.

"Okay everybody..." Cross stood before everybody at the head of the room. "I'd like to make a few toasts if that's okay with the host..." Ink nodded in Cross's direction and smiled a bit. Cross cleared his throat. "Before my AU was destroyed, there was nothing but peace and happiness. Okay and maybe the rare and occasional family feud, but over all life was good. Then ERROR took it all away. Though doing that has made me hate him, I've learned that there's still time to forgive. After all, I'm sure he feels bad about it, and my home's being brought back soon. So yeah. That used to be home. But I've lived with all of you and more for so long that I don't wanna leave. So I hope I'll see you all after that. Ink, the first person to find me, Terror the one to help me even if it was wrong you stayed by my side, Dream and Nightmare who taught me that there was more than what met the eye. Studio showed me a few magic tricks, Death told me to give up but that only made me wanna prove him wrong, Blueberry showed me that everyone can be good, Gel taught me a few new words and terms used in the Galegon, and Tanz..." Cross motioned for Tanz to standard come over, which he obviously listened. Getting down on one knee and setting down his glass, he pulled a small box out from his pocket and looked up at his love. "Tanz....you showed me true friendship and loyalty. Though we've only known each other for about a month, you mean the world to me. You've shown me so much and stayed by my side since the start. Since that...heh...awkward start in bed." He blushed as everyone laughed a bit. But Tanz could just stand there staring. He was blushing a lot, but he wasn't reacting in the way Cross had hoped. "And through all of that....Tanz..." He held the box out and opened it slowly. "Will you-"

But then Tanz teleported them outside. Everyone just stared. They were about to find out what Tanz would say, but then they left.

"I think they needed some privacy. Heh heh." ERROR smirked as everyone chuckled.

"Well, cheers!" Blueberry was the first to put his glass in the air, followed by everyone else who said cheers as well. They all smiled and drank, and told funny stories. It all lasted for about three hours when Ink yawned in the midst of it all.

"Well guys, I'm gonna call it a night but you can all go on without me. No need to stop such a great party anyway." Ink smiled a bit and went to the kitchen to set his glass in the sink.

"I'll take over for now, okay? You go get some rest for the big day tomorrow." Gel smiled and headed back out into the living room. Right when Gel had left, Ink teleported to his room and fell back into his bed. Boy was it great to finally get a break again. He was finally gonna get some sleep before something so huge. Slowly, though...he drifted off into a land of sleep.

\----------------------

He walked around in the empty field for a bit, wondering where all of the wild flowers and plants had gone. It used to be so pretty until suddenly it had all disappeared. There were screams from the far away forest. Ink looked over in worry and ran. That's all he could do was run. 

Run and run and run.

The screams were so familiar. Their voices. The people burning in the wildfire. He knew them. They were close friends. Family. Everyone and everything was being swallowed up by that big fire. That monster was taking everything away from him. Just as he reached a hand out to help...

\-------------------

He woke up. Surprisingly he wasn't swearing or gasping or anything. He was just...awake. Looking over to his side, it was just about time to get going. He saw ERROR fast asleep in the bed next to him. It was almost like a friendly reminder that he wasn't alone anymore. That he could do it. So he hopped out of bed quietly and got ready to get going. Slipping out of the room, he peeked into his brother's to see if he had gone to bed. Turns out Studio was In there with him. Curled up to Gel like the youngest brother he was. Closing the door, he headed downstairs. Nightmare, Dream, and Terror were curled up on the couch. Death had Blueberry tucked under his cloak in a seemingly comfortable position. Then he peered into the kitchen. Tanz and Cross had fallen asleep at the kitchen table. Hunched over into its shiny oak surface like two drunks. They probably were drunk when they fell asleep there. After checking in on everyone, Ink headed to the front door and smiled brightly as he left without a peep.


	25. Alive and Peeved

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thanks to everyone for all of the Kudos and Comments and Hits! I love seeing all of that! Please enjoy this chapter and the ones to come. Thank you!

The trip to Undertale didn't take very long. In fact, it only took ten minutes from Inktale there. Gaster had already been waiting for him obviously. The guy never knew when to quit acting like the young early bird scientist he used to be. Though he still acted the same after all those years, it was mind boggling how he kept doing it. He was truly dedicated to science. Heck, bringing back the AUs involved the stuff. Math equations of all kinds were put into play. Though Ink refused to take part in the math stuff. He was meant for little math like canvas sizes and how many gallons of paint he would need for the next two weeks. But besides all that information...

"Ink," Gaster shook the protector's hand and smiled briefly. "Didn't expect you to bring a guest." He glanced behind Ink for a moment at the figure he knew he saw.

"Ummm...what guest?" Ink looked back to see what Gaster was seeing but didn't even see a thing. He sighed and laughed a little. "Nice try G, but today's a really big day. That means no throwing each other off, got it?" He punched Gaster's shoulder and lead the way to the portal into the Void. "You're old, crazy, and see stuff because of all of that, so let's just keep moving and get this done before anybody wakes up back home." Gaster sighed and followed Ink. Though he was fully aware of the person's existence. There **was** someone following them.

\------------------------

_Cross isn't gonna even notice that I'm gone. In fact, no one's even gonna know that it was my fault the AUs won't be back. Cross should've known that I would want to stop this. I don't want home back. I'll be trapped there just like I was trapped with Cross...but here I am...with half my soul at least I can float away from that loser. Hell...what if he finds out hay it was me and has what's left my soul taken away and...forget it. If I die, at least he won't be able to go home._

\------------------------

"That's all you have you have to do? It's that easy?" Ink looked at Gaster surprised. He hadn't expected the AUs to be so easy to free from the Void's clutches.

"I just need you to keep watch. There might be people who don't want them back..." Gaster opened a portal and looked into the darkness. Not a hung could be seen. It was as if he were staring straight into a black hole.

"Right...we still don't know who sent them out there...Outertale's there too, right?" Ink glanced back at Gaster for a moment.

"Yeah...should be...Death already successfully brought everyone from the AU back that had passed away. Everyone within the Void should be okay, but they might be passed out and have minor brain damage." Gaster sighed and peered deeper into the abyss.

"Just be careful..." Ink smiled a little and turned back around so he was facing away. And of course, there was someone there.

"Ink...you can't bring them back. Bad things will happen. Really bad things." X-Tale Chara reached a hand out to him, but of course, he would refuse. He didn't understand.

"Look...C-"

"I'm trying to help you and you're turning me down? I want to help, and all you want is...you want...you..." The struggle continues as words piled up. How could a ghost feel such pain? What was causing it anyway? "You can't bring them back. It will mess time up and what if Cross tries to fix it and gets himself killed?" Tears streamed down his white skin. It was as if he were still human, only faded. As if his opacity had been turned down just to hide. But hide what? Maybe he was trying to hide his fear? Pain? Love?

"C...I can't let you stop us...what we're doing is a good thing. Nothing bad will come from it." Ink tried to reassure him, but it was almost impossible.

"And what if he dies? What if Cross dies? I'll have nothing left to live for? Even if I'm dead, part of my soul is still here. And that's because of Cross. He saved me. Helped me. And I got to give back to him. But if our Universe gets brought back, he'll forget about me, or hate me." He wanted to fall to the ground and break. He wants it to all be over. He wanted things to go back to the way they were before. When it was just him and Cross.

"Cross won't leave you. He might ignore you for a while, but he might just want to catch up with the rest of the family. He'll never forget you though. Not after all you did for him." Ink looked back for a second to see Gaster closing the portal and smiling. It was done. The AUs were back. Now he just needed to find them and show Cross and Tanz where they were.

"Why?" X-Tale Chara almost choked on his words. It was painful to think that his family would be back, but he couldn't see him. Not as a ghost.

"Here..." Ink held out half of a soul. The other half to **C's** soul. It was his. It was finally his. He could finally go back to normal. Finally...

He took the soul and fused it with the other half. Then he fell to the ground. Ink helped him to his feet to readjust after floating for so long. He pushed Ink off and ran around a bit. He was laughing and smiling. He looked like a kid. A happy kid.

"C?!" Cross ran over with Tanz close behind as they looked on at the giggling wild mess who was running and skipping all about. He went over to Cross and Tanz and smiled more.

"Can we go home now?!" C quickly took Cross's hand and looked into his eyes.

"Right this way boys!" Ink stood near two portals. One to X-Tale, the other to Tearztale. They were going to split ways...

They all approached the portals and stood in front of their homes.

"Go on. Don't be shy. This is the real deal. You're gonna be safe and at home." Ink smiled with tears in his eyes like the others. But then something happened. Nobody expected it either.

"Tanz?" Frizk stood on the other side of the Tearztale portal and peered up at her brother. Her eyes were sparkling as bright as stars with tears flooding out like a waterfall.

"Frizk..." Tanz crouched down and picked her up, taking her into a tight embrace. Smiling and crying, they heard into the portal as it closed.

"That was nice..." Ink sniffled. "You guys go ahead."

"Will I ever see him again?" Cross questioned Ink.

"Of course you will. Don't worry." He waved goodbye as he pushed the brothers through the opening and zipped it straight up. They both looked at their house for a second. A little surprised that everything was exactly the same...

"So where were you for so long that was more important than your own family?" X-Tale Papyrus stood in the snow, his arms crossed as he held back tears. They both saw it. He'd never cried though. Maybe it's been longer than it felt. Cross stayed silent. A moment of two breaths happens before he sprinted to his younger sibling and leapt into the air to hug him. The sight looked like it had been out of a movie, but it wasn't. It was all too real. All X-Tale Chara could do was stand and stare as the two were breaking into tears and crying like babies. He was contemplating whether to run to the woods and hide forever or to stay there and try to work things out with his family.

"What? Are you just gonna stand there?" X-Tale Frisk opened her arms wide for her brother's embrace. In which he gladly walked over only to awkwardly accept it.

"Thanks..."

\------------------

"So where were you?" Zapyruz and Tanz sat outside later that night and looked up at the stars. Oh, how they held so much mystery. They were scattered across the Galegon and they were all different. Like people. Like AUs. Like everything. Different.

"Huh?" Tanz blinked at his brother, clearly having been spaced out for a bit. "Oh...it's a long confusing story..heh...I was...outside of here. You know? Like in another Alternate Universe. I got to travel and see a few others. Most of my time was spent in Inktale, otherwise, I was doing something else someplace else." He really wished he hadn't have said all that, but maybe it wasn't meant to be a secret. After all, all of the other AUs knew of each other...right? That wasn't supposed to be kept secret.

"Oh...I thought AUs were real." Zapyruz peered up at the sky. "I've always wondered if they knew about us though...guess that answers my question, huh?" He laughed a little bit.

"Well...It's been a long day and a hangover, so maybe-"

"I know, you should get to sleep...but...before you do...Frizk said she'd seen some other people with you...who were they?" Zapyruz cocked his head a little as he waited for a response.

"Right...there was Cross, C, and Ink. More like X-tale Sans, X-Tale Chara, and Inktale Sans, but you get the just of it." Tanz stood and looked up one more time.

"One more thing...can I have my scarf back?..." Zapyruz and Tanz stared at one another. They had both forgotten for a while about the thing and it had just then been brought up for once. He'd never taken it off, neither of them actually. Until Tanz slipped it off his neck and handed it to his brother. It felt unnatural to have it off, but it wasn't his, to begin with, so...why did he feel that way? It wasn't like he had just lost a piece of his brother. After all, he had him back so it shouldn't have been a problem to give it back.

"Well...um...I'm gonna catch some Z's." They both laughed as Tanz headed inside.

"Goodnight!" Zapyruz called back before turning up to the stars. Maybe one day he could do what his brother did and travel the vast Galegon...

\----------------------

"Night!" Cross yelled down the stairs before heading into his bedroom and locking the door. It felt so strange to him to be alone. He was so used to having company. Tanz's company. Ink's company. Everyone's really...but that didn't knock him down. Heading over to the closet, he opened it and peered inside. Had he expected ERROR to be in there like when they first met? Oh well. Though there was something a little suspicious about the closet. Walking forward, he pushed past the clothes and through the closet. Turns out that he'd gone through the wall and was in another closet. Maybe it was just his brother's and it was some weird shortcut into his room for whatever reason. But then he saw a familiar white hoodie hanging from a hanger. It's distinct blue and purple pattern almost too obvious. Cross stayed silent and thought for a moment. That time was quickly up when he was yanked out by Tanz himself.

"I thought you were in your AU?" He looked him the eyes tiredly and suspiciously. Then, of course, there was that hint that he was still super sad about having to go home leaving Cross and all he'd learned to love behind.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..........." Cross shrugged and slipped out of Tanz's light grip. Eyup. He wasn't much of a fighter. In fact, Tanz didn't even equip the fight button half the time. Though it was still kept in emergency storage just in case he had to use it. Which was very rare.

"So, how's life been? You know...now that you're...home." Cross sat down on the plush bed and laid back. Tanz walked over and sat down next to him.

"It's been great. But...nothing compared to hanging out with...myself." Tanz laughed as Cross refused to. Soon enough though, he couldn't hold back.

"Tanz?" Zapyruz opened the door and looked inside. His eyes were meant to rest on one person, his brother. But instead, there were two people in the room.


	26. Golden Treat

"Shit..." Studio rubbed his head as he sat up in the snow. He'd meant to teleport to Inktale, but his magic had been acting out of whack, which is why he ended up in some other AU. Cautiously, he pushed himself to his feet and looked around. He didn't recognize the area at all. It may have been one of the newest AUs, which could have been anything really. Well, wherever he was, he could take notes on the place and tell Ink about the AU later, that is if his magic finally goes back to normal. Taking a few steps forward, he stumbled a bit. Soon he realized that he couldn't walk too well because one of his fibula's had snapped, and one of his tibia's had cracked a bit, causing warm neon rainbow blood to pour down to his foot. He tried to walk on his right leg alone, but it didn't seem to work so well. He leaned against a pine tree to his left for support as he slid down the side of it, crying. He was going to die for sure if no one found him. Maybe his blood would die the snow and someone would know that something had happened. But that would be all that was left of him other than a pile of ashes that resembled much of the snow itself, so not a soul would be able to recognize who'd suffered in the very spot.

"Over here!" A child ran over to him as his eyes were left half lidded from sadness and pain. They looked like a form of Frisk. Then Studio was able to recognize the AU. It had to be X-Tale. So, Frisk ran to his side and knelt before him in a display of help and sadness. "He's hurt!" She called back to someone, but Studio wasn't able to see too far as his vision blurred with tears. Maybe he wouldn't die after all. Maybe he'd live just long enough to apologize to his brother for being such a loon.

"Would you look at that," X-Tale Papyrus walked over and peered down at Studio. If it weren't for his injured leg, he would've attacked him with questions and attacks. "Let's take him back home, yeah?" He leaned down and picked the medium skele up. So, the three of them headed towards home. Frisk wouldn't stop checking on Studio and her brother to make sure things were okay. She was a real worrier when it came to injuries and new people that randomly appeared. So Studio had to live with being stared at as the stranger Papyrus carried him in his arms. He seemed pretty strong from what Studio could tell, but he couldn't tell much about the two. So was left with a mild suspicion that something bad was going to happen to him if he made one wrong move. They finally made it the house they had embarking to find and headed inside. Studio was set on the couch as Frisk ran off to fetch some medical supplies, but nothing was gonna fix the broken bone or crack, so he was unsure as to why the kid was even trying. Then again she may not have known that it was an impossible injury to heal. The Papyrus just stood there. His arms crossed as he eyed the unwelcomed guest. There wasn't much to say until finally the Frisk ran back and attended to Studio's lethal injury.

"Would you mind telling me how this happened to you?" She spoke smoothly as she wiped the wounds with antiseptic. Her eyes were full of worry, curiosity, and...was that anger?

"I must've just teleported wrong. I landed kinda funny and that's why I'm in bad shape sorta..." Studio sucked air in through his teeth as his bones stung with a burning sensation.

"What's your name, where are you from, what do you know?" The Papyrus wasn't one to talk and decided to ignore sympathy by getting straight to the point. He wanted answers, but who couldn't see why? After all, what would you do if an injured stranger entered your AU?

"The name's Studio. I'm from Studiotale. One of the many hated AUs-STARS THAT HURTS." Studio clenched his eyes shut as the Frisk wrapped his leg in bandages and a stick for support.

"Sorry..." She hissed as she wrapped the bones carefully.

"Anyway..." Studio let out a sigh as she finished and took a seat next to him. "I know next to nothing about this place if that's what you're asking me. I've only been friends with Cross. Well, sorta..." He looked around a little, then turned back to the Papyrus, who was now holding a knife and twirling it in his hands.

"So, you know Cross, huh?" He spoke in a low growl as he glared at Studio. He was so weak because of his injury that it was hard not to imagine him trying to run from him in the snow as more blood soaked through the bandage and hit the ground as a trail to follow.

"Yeah, he's...weird. Not my type anyway...so...mind if I get going? I won't tell a soul of anything." Studio smiled nervously as sweat trickled down his skull in small and rare droplets.

"You mentioned that there are more AUs...does Cross know about them?" The Papyrus was eyeing him evilly at that by that point.

"Y-yeah. Just leave me out of this. It was merely an accident. Uh, thank you for helping though." He nodded to the two and teleported away.

"So...are we gonna ask him or what?" The Frisk scooted off of the couch and smirked as her brother clenched the knife in one hand.

"We won't need to ask for him to tell us."

\-------------------------------------

The room was as bright as it always was. Papers floated around in random yet planned out patterns. Ink sat in the midst of it all. But he wasn't alone. Him and his brother Gel were examining the paper for Tearztale. They looked over the whole thing. Something did catch their eye though. On the map in the woods with Tanz was a small X. Only Cross was represented by that shape in that form of dark grey. Other than spotting a few interesting things and taking notes, they sat in silence. Just, observing.

\-------------------------------------

"Dream you have to listen to me! There's evidence right here on my leg that proves what happened," Studio breathed. "You have to believe me." He searched Dream's face for a sign that he understood and was at least going to say yes to helping to tell Ink, but no such sign appeared. Dream's face remained neutral as he numbed it over. Even though he'd trusted Studio, it was still uncertain as to what actually happened and in full detail.

"Well," Dream looked down briefly to turn his head back up. "It wouldn't hurt to tell him...just keep in mind. If you're caught in a lie about this, you're getting me out of it. I don't wanna get caught up in your lies, like a trap full of flies." Dream spoke almost musically, making Studio hope he wasn't going to break out into song.

"Let's go then?..." Studio looked at Dream strangely, causing him to look back the same. Without warning, Dream slapped him across the face. His own was a storm of yellow as he turned away angrily. "Hey! What was that for?" He held his cheek as he blinked at Dream. The smol was turned away as he opened a portal.

"Okay. Just, don't look at me like that again." Dream liked back and smiled brightly, as if what happened didn't happen. Quickly, he pulled Studio towards the portal and hopped through with him. They landed in Ink's paper room, but not in a place very expected. Gel and Ink were right on target as Dream flew into Ink, and Studio hitting Gel. The four of them freaked out a bit as two had to listen to the other two apologize and rant on about a threat.

"Woah, woah, woah guys...start all over and one at a time." Ink put is hands down after waving them to get Studio and Dream's attention.

"Okay, so I meant to teleport to you to ask if I could explore the new AUs, but then the transmission must've gotten all fizzled and I ended up in X-Tale." Studio spoke quickly and worriedly, and so did Dream when he continued what he was going to finish.

"So then the Papyrus and Frisk came across him after he'd injured his leg, which is still injured, but that's beside the point. So they came across him and acted really sweet, though the Papyrus was a little off somehow."

"I went along with their plan to bandage my leg, and I'd expected questions right away, right when I was healed they got to the chase, mainly the Papyrus talking, and I answered truthfully."

"He said his name, his AU name, and how and why he'd gotten to the AU in the first place."

"I told them a few things and they asked more questions about the AUs. They wanted to know how I knew Cross and where we were, and then they wanted me to take them to these other AUs and I declined and left."

"But now he and I both are positive that they are left wanting to know more and might try to get the information out of Cross." Dream finished, the two of them sighing from all of the excitement.

"But Cross is in Tearztale..." Gel looked back to the AU paper and eyed the small X on it.

"Don't worry," Ink straightened himself and looked to all of them. "I'll go explain so that way nothing bad happens. I'm sure I can handle things more coolly." He vanished through a floating paint portal, leaving Gel and the others to stare at the papers.

\------------------------------------------------

"Cross, you really should go home," Tanz spoke quietly as they walked through the woods together. "I'm sure your family is worried about you, and they might think that you won't return this time..." He looked up at the path to find that they were almost to the place he'd planned for them to visit. It was this really pretty cliff with a valley of pine trees below it. It wasn't the best time to go and visit since the sun was still high in the sky. Tanz had preferred it to be sunset, but Cross wanted to move things along to see his AU.

"Nah," Cross finally spoke after thinking it over or enjoying the sound of the breeze through the pine needles, and the birds varying songs. "They won't be too worried." A gust of wind blew by just as they reached the cliff. "Woah, this is a sight...you'd never see this back in X-Tale..." Cross walked out to stand near the edge and smiled as the warm sun hit his bones and the breeze cooled whenever it got too warm.

"It's better at dusk or dawn," Tanz smiled a bit more as his face was tinted with blue and purple. Looking at Cross and seeing him that happy was not only a relief but also a golden treat. He might never see that face again, unless-

"Hey, uh...Tanz..." Cross stopped smiling as there was blush on his face too when he turned around and walked over to Tanz. "I've been meaning to ask you again...since last time was a little embarrassing, and I'm sorry about that...heh...but um..." Cross got down on one knee and held out the small black box from the night before.

"Cross...." Tanz blushed more as he eyed the box again. The scene seemed perfect.

"Will you-"

"Don't! Even say a word...it's yes." Tanz brought Cross up off the ground and pulled him into a warm embrace. But other than the hug, tears, and love shared, there was something else...a kiss. That sure as Hell sealed that relationship.

\------------------------------------------------

Oh how sweet things have turned out. Too bad X-Tale and Tearztale have a **killer** curiosity.


	27. X-Plaining Things Simply

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for having some late chapters here and there. Sometimes it's best to take a break. Also warning, very short chapter. ;-; Sorry lol.

Before everything went down hill, Ink calmly explained to the people of X-Tale and Tearztale that there would be a meeting hosted by himself in the IDMR and that Cross and Tanz would help them all get there. They had gotten a little mad that they had to take the people of their AU over to the meeting, but they weren't gonna turn down the AU protector. That would not only be rude, but it would also get them in a lot of trouble too. So they decided to agree and take their AU's to the IDMR. Ink wasn't even there yet by the time both Universes had made it. The room, as unexpected, was full of chatter. Tanz and Cross just stood next to each other in between the two sides. They were the dividing wall that separated Tearztale from X-Tale. Finally, Ink arrived and cranked down the volume quickly. All eyes rested on him. He delivered a large smile to them all and cleared his throat to assume position as speaker.

"I'd like to thank Cross and Tanz for bringing you all here today, now..." Ink lifted the end of his scarf and peered down at it as if reading something. "First order of business, the people here on my right are from an AU by the name of Tearztale, while on the other side we have X-Tale." He glanced up and looked between the two, deciding whether or not it would be worth introducing everyone in the room to each other. He'd decided against it and sighed. "Look, I have a lot of other things I could be doing right now, and here I am with all of you...I would go into further detail of AU jumping, AU's, Timelines, ect., but I don't have much time you see...there's something attacking someone right now somewhere and I need to be there so...yeah uh...if you could take over Cross, Tanz. Thank you and sorry!" Ink ran off someplace as he dropped his scarf to the ground and hopped through a swipe of paint on the wall. Cross and Tanz looked around at everyone, both attempting to hide their left hands.

"Okay so...I'm Tanz," Tanz smiled and waved sort of nervously. But the nerves soon dissipated as he realized that it was okay and it was going to be easy explaining things. Too bad he hadn't told Ink that he'd already saved Littletale Frisk. She was stuck in a tree after climbing it, trying to prove to Littletale Undyne that she was brave. So within a few moments into the explanations, Ink returned. He stepped forward and seemingly shyly stepped in between the two Sanses as he took over the explanations. Near the end of the meeting, Ink had randomly stopped talking and started taking a head count.

"What's up?" Cross looked around, then turned back to Ink as he stopped to think about something.

"Where are the Asriel's?" Ink looked to the two 'responsible' skeletons and waited for a response. His eyes clearly stated that he was not in the mood for games. There was a no other responses as he kept glaring knives at them. Nothing but simple-minded shakes of the head was seen.

"When I went to get Azriel from my room, he wasn't there." Tanz admitted. It was true. He and Cross headed out just as Azriel showed up and headed up to their room. They kinda shared it since they were so close and Az was there on a daily basis.

"Hey guys," A rugged yet youthful-ish voice was heard behind the group at the back of the room. It appeared to be X-Tale Asriel, who stood right next to the smol Azriel. "Sorry, I'm late. Heh. Had a meeting of our own." He leaned down and rustled the kid's hair, then walked over to his mother and father.

"What meeting?" Ink raised his voice over the other's as conversations in question began to pop up around the room.

"The unholy Asriel meetings, why-"

"You've met the other Asriel's," Cross stomped over to his AU's goat prince and glared at him. "That means you've been to other AU's and you know a Hell of a lot more than we do. Shit, you might even know more than Ink." Cross tried to act taller by standing up to the taller goat, but he just couldn't match the height or intimidation.

"Cross, please. Allow me to handle it," Tanz spoke smoothly as he headed over to Azriel. He crouched down and eyed the small goat. "Az, do you know about other AU's?"

"Yes..." He admitted it sheepishly as he held his hands in front of him and looked down. His gaze shifted to saddened and pained as Tanz held him close.

"It's okay. It wasn't your move to tell anyone about it anyway..." He stood after squeezing Azriel tight in a quick hug making his eyes sparkle and a smile to appear on his once dull face. "Asriel's have meetings then...they're more important because they are the secret inside spies of their Universes and help to feed information to Asriel so he can further more better protect the Galegon." He peered back at the others as they nodded. They were going to have to find out what they knew.


	28. Bleating or Bleeding?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short previous chapter. I made the layout and when I was typing it I summed it up to that. ;-; Yeah sorry. Lol. Anyway, this next chapter consists of everyone's favorites, goats. Okay maybe not...everyone's. Lol. But besides that ou can check out my accounts and my other works if you want some spice in your loaf. XD Enjoy!

Yellow rays of sunshine shone through the thick layers of green leaves, causing a warm look spread across and around the garden. Water crystal clear and making splattering sounds as it bounced off of the rocks and down to the pond below. The wind making chimes sing and calmness to make its way around the atmosphere. Flowers of many different colours were spread throughout. Shades of blue, pink, yellow, purple, and much more dusted the land. Bushes brought a settling feeling so the colours weren't too overwhelming and energetic. The bark on the trees ranged from blackish brown, all the way to whitish brown. Some trees had green shaded leaves, while others had red, yellow or white. Pink Japanese flower peddles even floated around from the trees near a Japanese styled section. The air was crisp and refreshing as it blew past and against Asriel's white fur. It ruffled its way across his body making him feel reborn and awake with a newfound determination. He stretched his arms and legs, letting out sighs as a few bones cracked, releasing their tension. Once he was done, he opened up his medium brown eyes that shone like a true amber in the light and walked over to a stone bench carved to look like half of a stump and took a seat. The breeze caused his brown pull over hoodie to snap and bend in the light wind. His light blue shirt calling attention as it was a difference in contrast to the brown he wore on his legs. His shoes were plain white canvas style as their toes scraped lightly against the dirt and sand trail. Though the air wasn't still and there was no silence, the garden was left in a peaceful state.

"Asriel! As! Hey!" Ink, of course, was showing up right in the middle of it all. He ran over to the goat prince and bowed his head slightly. Asriel almost winced as he did. He wasn't royalty. It was just simply his job to do sophisticated things. "Look I'm sorry to disturb you right now, but-"

"Hush..." Asriel closed his eyes for but a moment before opening them again. "It won't make any sense if you blabber it out at me all at once." He patted the spot next to him on the bench, where Ink cautiously went to sit. They looked at each other briefly before Ink took a breath in and thought things through.

"Azriel and X-Tale Asriel have been to the Asriel meetings, correct?" Ink looked back, clearly paranoid about something, and turned back.

"Yeah. Every Asriel across the Multiverse shows up to the meeting. Just not other Timelines or Multiverses. AUs without Asriels are the ones where that goat decided to leave the Galegon for a better life. I let them of course...and if you're gonna ask how I know this stuff it's because I protect the Galegon. So duh." Asriel took a moment to look up at the sky and appreciate its colour.

"So what do you do as the leader to know everything?" Ink had probably asked the dumbest question ever. He knew that Asriel had to have some sort of camera system that stretched around the whole Galegon. But of course, he wanted to know everything, and asking that would hopefully give him specifics.

"Are you asking me permission to see how I do it?" Asriel arched an eyebrow at the shorter skeleton beside him and made a monitor appear in his hand. He held it out for the two of them to see as he switched it on and typed in his credentials. The screen lit up with a huge map of the Galegon that outlined the boundaries and AUs.

"Woah...so...you click on one to view it? And then you just watch?" Ink couldn't tear his eyelights away from the screen as he watched things move around at different speeds and patterns. There was so much more to the whole process than he'd ever could've imagined. It changed views to an AU Master List, then a Timeline List and the lists never ended. There was so much to see, and so much to explore. But he was sure that the goat would never allow him access or permission to watch the Galegon, though his want to watch it only grew as he was allowed to play around with it. Some things he'd discovered, he couldn't do. Like destroy....

"Oh uh," Asriel dissipated the monitor and looked off to the side for a moment. "If you're really that interested you can get in line behind everyone else in the Multiverse. Heh." He chuckled and turned back to Ink, who clearly wasn't happy about being mocked like that. They just looked around after that.

"Maybe when you're busy, I could take care of things." Ink tried to look as pleasant as he'd ever so Asriel would let him.

"If you can prove to me that you can take care of and guard the AUs properly for a century, then maybe I'll think about it. Have a good one!" And with that Asriel stood and ran off to go do something, leaving Ink disappointed and fussy that he wouldn't ever get a chance at taking care of the Galegon. He was sure that both of them would either forget or give up. He sighed and painted on the dirt ground below him. He looked around, expecting someone to stop him. But nobody came. So he hopped on through to appear in his room. The paint disappeared as he walked over to his bed and slid off his paint belt to set it on the well-made sheets. He checked his phone for anything he had missed, which was of course everything. Leaning his paintbrush up against the side of the bed, he glanced down at the blanket for a moment to find a neon blood stained letter.

It read; _If you do not wipe out all of the Asriels, this Galegon will be eliminated._

He stared down at it for a second, wondering if they would be a good time to start hunting for the person who'd written the letter. Suddenly, his phone buzzed in his hand. He held it up and glanced at the message on the screen. It was from his little trouble making brother, Studio.

...

The text stated that he was bleating...

Must've been a typo because he might just have been bleeding...

...

His blood is neon...

...

Somebody was gonna get grounded.


	29. False Statement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapters now. ;-; XD Also I put my own little messages in here. lol

Even if it was Studio, there's no way to be sure. Who knows if he's been threatened by the person who wants to attack everything. So, he headed out to find his senpai-ERROR. Not. His senpai. Autocorrect. Heh.

"Ink...explain yourself...why are you here?" ERROR grunted as he pulled a big wad of string out from under his bed.

"Look, I need your help to round up all of the Asriels in the entire Galegon. Just this main Timeline though, okay?" Ink paced nervously behind him as he ran people's names through his head. The criminal would have to want the Galegon wiped, so they would want it for them self.

"Oh alright I'll help...but you'll owe me." ERROR blushed slightly as he walked a little closer to Ink. Their eyes met and for a moment, there wasn't anything to say. But just as Ink was going to speak, ERROR leaned in and placed a light and air kiss on his cheek.

"E-ERROR-"

"I've got some goats to herd. See ya!" Ink was left alone for the hundredth time as he blushed insanely, just staring ahead as he wondered what to do next.

\----------------------------------

"Hey, Erriel."

"Ha ha very funny ERROR. Really. It's not even funny anymore. What do you want?" ERROR Asriel turned around from his work station as he looked ERROR up and down.

"Oh, I'm just here to ask of some...help." ERROR smirked a little bit, trying to look as if he was scheming something. But really he just wanted the glitchy goat to gather all of the other baby animals.

"Did Ink Sans send you my way? Cause if I find out he did I'm going to have to tell you to leave." He didn't move a muscle as he watched his old friend turned foe glance off to the side for a moment as if t check for something he couldn't see.

"No-"

"Look, I know he sent you. Even your ever fading, glitching memories could tell me that you are lying. I know that you were sent by him. I know by not only reading your mind, but because I know you two are very close, and he would send someone like you. Let me guess, it wasn't a specific order, right? You want me round up the Asriels? Fine. I'll do it. But you'll see that you'll regret letting me." ERROR Asriel flicked his blue and black pixel cape in front of him as he turned around to face his desk again.

"Whatever. As long as you do it." ERROR left without another word just as his best buddy Ink appeared.

"ERROR Asriel! Look, I can't let you do this. You're not gonna kill them, and you are not gonna take over this Galegon." He rushed over to the goat as a few glitching knives locked into his chest. The man's smirk could be seen from the side as his cape's hood hid his menacing eyes. Ink looked down at his chest and almost wanted to laugh, but then he also wanted to cry. Either ERROR Asriel purposely missed his soul, or he has the worst aim in the world.

"Fine. I won't do it today. But next time I swear you won't live to see the outcome."

So for...how many times now?...yeah whatever, but Ink was left /yet again/ alone in a room, and caught in an awkward situation. After a few moments of rushed thought, Ink pulled the knives out, and headed home.

\----------------------------------

"Come on! It'll be fun! It's the perfect prank to pull." Cross walked over to Tanz's closet and opened it slowly.

"I don't know about this...what if we get stuck some place?" Tanz peered into the closet for a second as he was almost pushed through. He glared back at Cross, but it soon became a smile because who gets mad at their love for that long?

"I'll teleport us back here."

Cross had said the word. Teleport. Tanz had never done that before. He didn't have even an ounce of magic in him and was only a level nine with 194hp because his brother had cheated his way into his show codes. He'd never been trained, and even if he were, he might not have even been able to control the stuff. Besides that, he was gonna do it for the first time. And...well...he didn't like the thought of that. He wondered what it was like for a brief moment. Then it crossed his mind that they would only need to teleport if something went downhill. Which wouldn't. Duh. Nothing bad ever happens in this fanfic.

"Let's go then." Tanz took Cross's hand and dragged him through the closet with him. They ended up in Underswap first. It was kinda funny actually. That they ended up there. Blueberry wasn't too fond of Cross which meant Tanz was a complete stranger to him. They saw Blueberry laying on his bed with headphones on. That was unusual for him...but sometimes people need to drown the real world out, so if that was the reason-well wait who cares? Tanz and Cross don't! That's for sure. So they approached the bed and pulled out some markers hoping that the skele wouldn't realize or wake up in the middle of it all. It was so hard not to laugh for them as they successfully drew a few dumb things on the Blueberry's skull. They kept on like that. Moving from AU to AU drawing on people's faces or stuff. Then they made it to Dreamtale......that's a story to tell. And sure. I'll tell.

The two appeared in the closet and walked out stealthily.

"What are you two doing here?" Dream looked up to stare at the two intruders. He was under his blanket and covering most of his face as he slunk back a bit, as if afraid of them.

"Hey, what's up?" Tanz immediately headed over to the bed and sat down beside him.

"If you want to cheer me up, I'm fine so go away." He buried himself in the fluffy warmth surrounding him. Tanz calculated the options he had as he pulled the blanket away as a final move. Luckily it was pulled off with ease as the rest of Dream was revealed gripping his right wrist tightly. His glove for the hand was on the pillow by his head.

"Hey," Tanz's eyes softened as he looked at Dream sympathetically. "Let me see it...don't worry...I won't hurt you...I'm just here to help, okay?" They looked at one another for a moment, deciding if it was safe to move at all. But Dream wasn't stubborn and he didn't keep many secrets. Then he began to worry that Ink would find out if he showed his wrist. It stung so badly, but there was no way he was going to show them. Tanz reached out and took the hand in his hand. His and Cross's eyes widened as they stared at the golden coloured blood wet arm. There were four cuts right along the bones. Tanz shook his head sadly and pulled a bandage out of his pocket. Wrapping it carefully, he glanced at Dream's tear soaked face. The kid was a wreck...but he was Dream...so only something insanely tragic could've caused him to act in such a manner.

"Hey kid-uh...Dream...call anytime, got it?" Cross looked Dream up and down, wondering when, why, and how he did it.

"I'm not leaving you..." Tanz picked Dream up and headed over to the closet where Cross still stood, completely shocked at the turn of events. "Let's head back to my place." Cross sort of snapped out of his trance and nodded. He swallowed nervously as he took Dream out of Tanz's arms.

"Uh, just in case you throw up or something." He smiled a little but, but it was clearly fake. Suddenly they were teleported straight to Tanz's room where Cross set Dream down on the bed and looked back to see how his partner was doing. And of course he wasn't doing the best in the world. Tanz was leaning against the wall and holding his lower ribs with a hand. Cross held back laughter as he watched Tanz finally look up from the floor he had been staring down at for so long.

"I'm...fine I think..." Tanz rubbed his skull as he walked over to the bed. "You should've warned me to close my eyes." They both laughed a bit but soon recovered to turn back to Dream. He looked kind of tired, but wide awake at the same time. Maybe it was in fear of the new environment, or he was just worried someone would tell on him.

"Hey," Cross sat down on the edge of the bed with Tanz. "It's okay. Tanz'll take of you. I've gotta head home so I don't have to go through an extra hour of training. See you guys." He left, leaving Tanz thinking about how his husband's life was back in order.

"Dream," Tanz moved up to sit next to the smol. They sat next to each other in the bed. Like father and son-but they aren't. Duh. "You cut yourself with that knife...why?" He looked at the kid curiously. It really did shock him that such an optimistic skeleton would end up hurting himself like that. He knew that Cross ran off to tell Ink, which was the best option. It was just that none of them were prepared to have such a conversation. Dream shifted uncomfortably for a moment before turning to the older skele and looking him the eyes guiltily.

"He made me..."

"Who?"

"Terror."

"But why?"

Dream didn't answer for a few moments. He just switched looking from Tanz's blank eye to the coloured one. "I'm sorry...I just...I..." He was pulled into a gentle embrace and held there. His shoulder being rubbed slowly in comfort. He stayed there. He was sniffling and sobbing as if something absolutely tragic had happened. "I-I'm just s-so sor-ry..." He buried himself against the skeleton before him. He wasn't thinking as he accidentally began mumbling in between hiccups what had happened. "I-I didn't *hic* mean to say that *hic* I didn't care. *hic* B-but Terror said that *hic* he hated me an-nd *hic* I didn't know what to do or say so I just *hic* I just...I'm sorry." Throughout that time, Cross had returned with Ink and they were sitting on the bed near Tanz and Dream. Tanz slowly patted Dream's back in an attempt to calm him down. It took time, even so after twelve whole minutes, but Dream had finally calmed down enough with only small tears falling from his eyes. "S-sorry for getting your shirt wet..." He wiped his nose and sniffled as he scooted back, away from Tanz. But it was soon caught by his eyes that they were not alone. "I-I thought you wouldn't tell..." He looked at Cross, his eyes more watery than before.

"Hey Dream, it's okay. I'm here. It's alright," Ink let the smol lean on him for support as he looked at the other two. He nodded a thank you and turned his attention back to Dream. "I've got a whole lot of work to do lately...maybe you two could...care for him for now? Are you all alright with that?" He looked back at the other two as Dream pushed off of Ink and nodded.

"Yeah, it's cool," Tanz smiled reassuringly at the three. "He can stay here for as long as he needs to recover." He looked to Dream in true wonder. He was as curious as a cat. And everybody knows what kills cats. Cross picked up his ringing phone and hung up on the number.

"Well, that's my cue to leave," He leaned into Tanz and kissed him on the lips before backing off and looking at the others, a faint blush dusting his cheekbones. "See you guys!" Then, of course, he left Tanz to explain the small move he'd made to the two viewers on the channel.

"Uh...shouldn't you go too Ink?" Tanz quickly changed the subject before anyone else could as he turned to the two with a dumb smile on his blue and purple face.

"Oh uh yeah. Take care!" Ink hopped up off the bed and jumped through a paint portal on the wall just as it faded. So this time Dream and Tanz were stuck in awkward silence...

"So...you and Croooosssss?" Dream stopped his crying and sniffling and turned his attention to the only other person in the room.

"Uhhhhhhhh.....no?" Tanz swallowed as he looked on nervously. People were bound to find out anyway, but the way that was happening was just weird and invasive. Then again Cross pretty much pecked him right in front of two other people. One of which would stay silent and maybe tease just a little, while the other might as well end up sharing it to the world and calling it an OTP. While he had been distracted by his racing soul and thoughts, Dream had lifter his left hand and was obviously studying the silver ring on his finger.

"Heh heh. Liar," Dream let go of his hand and smiled brightly. "Not that it's a bad thing though! You two are perfect for each other! I mean at least I think so. Whenever you two plan the wedding, I wanna go! So, don't make it too private. Or too public in that case. Also, I won't tell a soul, I swear on it," Dream's eyes lit up with joy at the new celebration to come, but then the light left and there was a slightly dull look. "Did you two already ask for the blessings or something?" He blinked at Tanz as his face became pale.

"No..." Tanz looked back for a moment as if he'd heard something. "But I'll get things sorted out. And sure I'll invite you along...but...man...Cross proposed to me, so...does that mean I have to wear a...dress?" Tanz blushed as he hugged a pillow tight to his worry aching chest.

"You don't have to, but technically, yeah. It's tradition for the wife to wear one..." Dream flinched as he realized and remembered that the woman he thought was sitting before him, didn't exist. "I-I mean you d-don't have to! Heh heh." He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I guess I'll wear one...even if I'm not a girl, might as well give things a shot." Tanz shrugged and turned to the open door. And of course, someone was standing there.

"Wait...I know you!" Frizk ran over to the bed and climbed up onto it. She stared at Dream for a couple heartbeats then turned to Tanz.

"You what now?" Tanz looked between the two. Hunting for a connection of some sort. But he didn't have a writing utensil to connect the dots...


	30. Old, Older, Yet Older

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for late updates. I've been working hard to get these done right with the smallest amount of spelling ERRORs possible. lol. Hope you enjoy this chapter full of old guys-I mean Asriels and Gasters. XD

The entire Galegon had been put under a freeze. Snow fell everywhere. Luckily there were shields on the AUs. Otherwise, some places wouldn't ever be the same. It was, of course, that time of year where the most ancient people in the Galegon would come together and have a meeting in the IDMR. Those very old masterpieces were none other than the Asriels and Gasters. Though there were still many of the two that were very young or at least a couple decades younger than the two originals. They would come together to talk about their AUs and the states of them and the Galegon as a whole. Of course, Asriel and Gaster were the ones to verify the information they had been given from their alternate counterparts. They all sat in the same room Sanses would meet up in. Though since there were more Gasters and Asriels combined compared to Sanses, they had to pull out the extra section of the table and duplicate a few chairs since someone keeps eating the others. No really. Littletale Asriel loves to chew on stuff. But what more could you expect from a baby goat? One thing he most definitely has in common with the other goats at the meeting was that they were all hyper and full of energy. They loved to talk and explain, much like the scientific Gasters they were around. Though some of them were more on the 'cut you off' side rather than the 'oh allow me to let you finish before I begin my speech' sort of thing. Even so, the only truly calm, or rather as close to calm as possible, was none other than Asriel. He had to keep peace and order in the Galegon, but there also had to be a balance between good and evil. Sometimes pain couldn't be helped. Basically what that meant is that Asriel has every right in the world to help the suffering out of their black hole lives. But he just decides to leave things as they are and let people suffer and wail in pain as he stands by and watches. Maybe he enjoyed doing that. Maybe deep down he was a true killer. Which actually, was true.

Asriel wasn't originally from Undertale. In fact, it didn't even exist when he was around. Believe it or not, he created the Galegon once he'd escaped a hellish jail in his old home. He'd come from Goat Simulator. And boy was he the demon they portray in stories because he had tried to wipe his Galegon clean. It started when he was a kid, and it only got worse. It got so bad, he went to jail for it all. But the jail didn't keep him on hold for long because he escaped three days after imprisonment. He left his home and headed out in search of another. Thanks to him, goats can breathe in space because it took over years to create a new home, Undertale. After making basic shields to protect some amount of empty space, he laid back to get inspired. He wanted a family. A new home where he could start over and be known for acts of kindness instead of murder. Then one day Gaster came along after facing the same fate. They talked and worked and finally things were looking up. But even after all of their bonding, only Asriel knows of that story. It was his idea for brainwash once the time was set straight so they'd both feel natural and at home. Until he decided he wanted those memories. So yeah. The goat prince is a bad guy.

"Guys, calm down!" Asriel waved his arms in the air as he stood on the table to get the other goat's attention. Of course, they didn't listen. They were too busy shit talking one another. Letting out a long sigh, he teleported every Asriel but himself to their AU. He hopped off the table and eyed the remaining Gasters. A few had left because they felt out of place and unimportant. Gaster wasn't in the mood to argue with those many, so he sent them on their way as well. All who were left were Asriel, Fell Asriel, Reaper Asirel, ERROR Asriel, Gaster, Underswap Gaster, Underfell Gaster, and Gazter.

"How come you guys aren't like them?" Underfell Gaster teased at the remaining Asriels with a devilish smirk and hard set eyes.

"Oh cut it out Fell G," Underswap Gaster took a few steps forward and smiled brightly. "He's always like this." He rolled his eyes at the skeleton next to him.

"Alright you two," Gaster wave a hand dismissively at the two to call off the cat fight. "How about we get down to business?" He nodded at the small group left.

"Hold up a second..." Underfell Asriel took a sturdy step forward and looked straight at UF Gaster. Their eyes locked as the low hum of magic sounded around the room. "I'm not like them because I'm not you." He snarled.

"Oh yeah?! Well, at least I'm not some yiffing furry!"

"Guys!" Asriel shoved them away from each other and looked between them. "We came here to have a serious meeting. Not because we wanna start a fight club." He sighed as Gaster stepped in to just about agree.

"Excuse me..." Everyone's attention turned to the strange man in the corner. He'd been there the whole time observing all of them. His place had been untouched by eyes or ears. Nobody had seen him. Not until then... "We are here to have a serious meeting, correct?" The man pushed off of the wall and walked into the light-because for some reason all of the corners were dark as Hell-his pixel long coat dragging its perfect white fur along the ground. The shine of his blue and green eyes popping out against the single black tear streaks running from each eye. It could be clearly stated he was a Gaster...but...um...he looked kinda girly in the whole long coat cloak thing. Almost looked like a dress...

"Hello! I'm US Gaster! What's your name?" Underswap Gaster ran over to the new comer once he was in sight and reached out a hand. At first, the Gaster just stared at it, then his shoulders relaxed and he gladly took the sweet gesture into his own hand.

"Teaztale Gaster, but um, call me Gazter," He smiled a small bit at the slightly shorter, more energetic, alternate him. Until he'd turned his attention to the others in the room. "I'm going to assume none of you want to introduce yourselves and you want me gone for invading. Pardon me." He bowed a little respectively as he clearly heard what could not. A small whisper from Asriel.

"This guy's weird."

"Look, I know that it's rude to stay quiet and not say a word when I arrive, but it is even more absurd for a man of your level of sophistication and mannerism to say such a thing about someone who isn't but a couple hundred feet away from where you stand." He looked to the ruler with a blank expression. He wasn't one to make expressions, though he did smile from time to time. Very rare though. A forced smile, on the other hand, was one he had to put on a lot of times. But since no one seemed welcomed by his presence, his mood had dropped a bit.

"Um...I'm so very sorry for this uprising," Reaper Asriel walked over-looked like he floated though-to Gazter and looked in the eyes. "These _pesky little children_ have done nothing all day. They just like to cause trouble." He suddenly became more chill as he pulled two small scythe looking knives from his back.

"Pesty children?!" Both of the Underfell leaders glared icy stares at RA. They were like Aries. Pissed off easily.

"Oh but it isn't your time..." Reaper Asriel slid the knives away and smirked. "But soon enough it will be. Heh heh heh."

"This is not what we are here to discuss." Underswap Gaster Held his head with a hand as he noticed someone in the opposite corner.

"Oh great. Another creep to deal with. First this classical looking girl guy thing, now some other mysterious beast. Lemme guess-"

"DoN'T YoU DArE..." ERROR Asriel cut Asriel off as he stepped out into the light. He walked forward, ignoring Gazter. "I ThOuGHt wE WeRE hEre fOR a MeEtINg?" He glanced up at everyone but the one he'd ignored before.

"Maybe we could just do this next week?" Underswap Gaster pitched in as he glanced around at everyone.

"No, no. Me and Asriel here will have our own meeting. You can all go home without worry now. We can handle this." Gaster teleported himself and Asriel to a place in Outertale to discuss matters of their own. While everyone slowly filed out of the IDMR except for Gazter and ERROR Asriel.

\------------------------------------

"Look, I think we need to increase security around here. Crime's been going up pretty quickly now, and everyone's getting shady." Asriel took a bite of the sandwich he'd brought along as he looked at Gaster wide eyed. It was sort of pretty actually. To Gaster at least. The way that Asriels' eyes sparkled and reflected the light from the shining stars.

"I think that's a good idea." Gaster looked down at his water bottle briefly.

"We need someone who can protect kids to watch them while teams can watch out for the more violent and suspicious adults and teens." Asriel finished his sandwich and sipped a High-C.

"Someone to protect kids..."

"..."

"..."

"Tanz." Gaster finally spoke up after staring at his water for so long.

"Good idea," Asriel stood and helped Gaster up. He winked and smiled before disappearing in a flash of bright rainbow. The trip to Tanz wasn't that long actually. He knocked on the front door as he heard some laughter from inside. Instead of him opening the door, it was his brother, Zapyruz. "H-hi...uh...is Tanz home?" He tried to look natural, but after what he's seen and learned about the AU and its' history, he was somewhat afraid of chatting with other people.

"Sure is," Zapyruz stepped out of the way and let the nervous goat inside. Off to the right, he saw Tanz with Dream and Frizk. Zapyruz closed the door as he headed towards the stairs. "Good luck." He whispered to Asirel as he passed to go up."

"Probably that first idea," Dream smiled and looked at Frizk, then eyed Asriel. "I think you have a guest..." He poked Tanz's arm.

"Huh?" Tanz turned around and smiled awkwardly. "Oh, uh, hey there. What's up?" He tried to act cool about the Galegon leader being in the same room as him and wanting a word. He didn't act like this before, what was his problem then?!

"Um, look...I was sorta wondering if you could go ahead and watch all of the kids in the Galegon...I know you're good at that stuff and hey! I'll even pay you." Asriel was holding his paws in behind his back tightly as he hoped that the skeleton would say yes. It was a great responsibility, but he also knew that the guy loved protecting kids and was looking for a job.

"I'll do it." Tanz smiled as he stood and looked at Asriel. The goat jumped up once before releasing his excitement on him. He hugged him tight before letting him go.

"I'll keep in touch with you. Oh! And tell Ink that I need to speak with him." There was nothing else to say because Asriel was already gone.

"Wow...that's a job for you...he he," Dream looked at Tanz as they sort of just stared at each other. "Anyway, while you're gone, I can watch Frizk." With that, Frizk jumped across the table and sat in Dream's lap.

"Uh...okay..." Tanz stood there awkwardly for a moment. "I'll uh...get going then..." He turned around and headed upstairs, but just before he could take the first step up, Dream teleported him to Ink's room. He swayed, a bit uneasy from the unexpected change. Looking around, he spotted Ink in his bed. Fast asleep. He approached slowly and called out his name....no answer.

"Ink."

"Ink, come on."

"Get up."

"Ink!"

"Dude...how do you sleep like this..."

"INK."

Finally Tanz sighed and took a seat on the bed on the opposite side of the rock. Then an idea came to his mind. He had put together a collection of Ink's Copics and began to draw all over his face. Maybe the scent of chemicals would wake him up or the cold touch of the marker tips. But nothing worked. After four straight hours of poking, light tapping, and rolling, Tanz finally heard what he'd been waiting for. The morning moan of waking up for once. He saw Ink stretch out a bit before he sat up and rubbed his eyes. Yawning, he finally turned his attention to the uninvited guest in his bed.

"Gah! Tanz! What are you doing here?!" He squirmed away and just barely fell off the bed as his hand was caught by the other skele's.

"Asriel wanted me to tell you that he wants a word with you. I'm guessing whenever since he didn't say when." Tanz followed Ink as he stood and headed into the bathroom. He, of course, dragged behind as he recorded Ink with his phone, waiting for him to look in the mirror. And when he did, boy was that a sight. Not at all what Tanz expected.

"Woah," Ink touched his face where the pattern was below his right eye. "This is...amazing...did you do this?" He turned his head to Tanz as he watched him stuff his phone in his pocket.

"So what? It's not art." Tanz shuffled over and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Under further examination, he did a pretty good job at drawing the painted looking dragon with faded rainbow in high detail. And he even did it in the dark. That was the surprising part. Ink glared at him.

"You're joking."

"No."

"You're joking."

"No."

"I can't believe my eyes."

At that moment the two caught onto the Nightmare Before Christmas reference and laughed hysterically. When the laughter died down, Ink threw Tanz into the bathroom and had him sit down on the toilet seat.

"You're a trigger, Tanz. Jeez. With skill like that-"

"I should be famous, yadda yadda. It's nothing! Really. Just a quick drawing of a dragon," Tanz Sighed and stood back up. "Look, we can talk some other time, but right now, I need to get home." He eyed Ink's fading joy and anger and saw calm again.

"Alright...I'll talk to him later." Ink dragged Tanz out of the bathroom and set him on the bed. Then he just stared at him. How frickin awkward can Ink get?!

"I know this is random...but...how old are you?" Tanz raised an eyebrow at the taller skele as he thought about what he'd asked.

"Uuuummmmm......I lost track. Probably over a million." Ink just blinked at Tanz as if being as old as JEEZ I DON'T KNOW.

"Your age makes me seem like a baby." Tanz couldn't help but laugh a little at that fact.

"Hey, Ink. G Shields are down. You know, we kinda need your help..." Gel was leaning into the room and staring at the two wide eyed.

"Oh shit..."


	31. There's no us in Team

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the sorta short chapters. ;-; I've been kinda busy with homework and looking over stuff for finals. Anyway, I'd superly appreciate it if you could tell me what you do and don't like about this fic! Thank you and enjoy!

If anyone couldn't already tell, the Galegon's outer and inner shields were down. That meant it was highly vulnerable. So people and AUs alike were in a lot of trouble. Gathered right around the edges, spaced out by hundreds of feet, were the strongest of souls. Sent there by Asriel himself to protect the space until further notice. Of course, things started out just fine, but that didn't mean they would end that way.

"TANZ. JUST. DO IT." Asriel had had it up to here with the skeleton saying he didn't have any magic at all. It had to have been a lie. He wouldn't be able to live or move or talk or anything if he didn't have some to keep his soul running.

"Asriel, please. Let me try," Ink walked over after the angry little goat stopped being too angsty and decided to be huffy puffy instead. He looked Tanz in the eyes and spoke somewhat softly. "Look, Tanz...if he can read that high energy magic level off of you, all you need to do is focus and draw it out, okay?" He felt so dumb. Everyone felt dumb. Heck, mostly Tanz's family felt that way plus guilt. Everyone thinking that they should've trained sooner or something else. But for some reason he didn't...

"Ink, Asriel, everyone..." Tanz looked around a little shyly. "I'm so sorry but I just can't do it. You try to explain it in the best way you can but all I can do is stand here and wonder what you're all talking about. I don't have any magic. If I did, I'm sure some sort of accident would've happened to me as a kid. But nothing happened." He sighed as he looked down. It was hard not to feel the urge to cry, though the urge never would truly come forth. He couldn't feel pain or sadness or anything negative. Which meant he just felt...nothing.

"Allow me..." His father Gazter walked up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "There is only one option left...to take the magic out of him, leaving just enough for life, and using it."

"You're crazy." Asriel continued to torture the poor guy as he rolled his eyes and looked away.

"This is a waste of time, just find another way." Tanz shoved his dad off, something he almost never did, and turned away.

"Tanz..." Gazter reached a hand out and took out his soul. "Please...you won't feel a thing...it will be alright-"

"I said no!" Tanz turned around and teleported his soul back into his chest. "I...I do have magic...but...I promised I'd never use it again..." He looked his father in the eyes with an icy look. Hidden sadness across his face. Unshed tears behind his eyes. But he couldn't let them out.

"You're not doing it for harm, you'd be doing it for the kids!" Ink's eyes were bright with concern as he watched the two separate.

"Get everyone to their AUs..." Tanz turned away and stared off into the distance where Outertale Sans stood there a float in the space. He was looking right back at him. Then he was gone.

"Be safe, okay?" Cross went over to his spouse and kissed his cheek. There were tears in his eyes as he spoke.

"Don't worry about me..." Tanz shook his head and had Cross leave. Soon enough everyone was back home. Well, except Terror...he was a stalker so, he didn't leave. Tanz though, he stayed. Walking up to the flashing red boundary that signalled their endangerment, he reached a hand out and touched it.

\---------------------------------------

"Seriously, what caused that?!" Ink slammed his fist on the table before Asirel, making him jump.

"L-look...I don't have a whole lot of information-"

"Just tell us what you know." Ink glared knives at the goat as his changed to a cross hair and a knife. Both red as he stared on in anger.

"The screen glitched out and an error screen popped up-that's all I know I swear!" Asriel curled into a ball defensively in his seat.

"Thank you, and uh...sorry for being so hostile on ya bud." Ink went around the table and hugged the flinching Asriel, then he snapped his fingers and Blueberry teleported him, Dream, Nightmare, and Ink to ERROR.

"ERROR! Best friend!" Blue skipped out happily.

"Blueberry? Ink? Dream?" ERROR came down from a swing of string as he eyed the Star Sanses curiously. "Oh and...Nightmare...what do you want?" His eyes rested on their leader, but that's not who spoke.

"Do you know what caused the glitch in the G-shields?" Dream spoke up with his small voice as he eyed the man above.

"All I know is that a signal was sent out from Undertale that caused an error in the system." ERROR spoke quickly as he returned back up into...well...wherever he was heading. It was just...up.

"Okay," Ink looked to everyone as they adjusted to the cold chill of Undertale's Snowdin. "We're gonna walk through the woods a bit before splitting off near the mountain edge, got it?" Everyone nodded as they started to follow their leader through the snow and ice.

"Does anyone else feel like it's too cold?" Dream eyed everyone from the back of the group, but they were gone. He hadn't registered the small snap of a stick behind him until he looked back to see it. "Guys?" He turned back in fear to find Sans standing in the path.

"Hey bud," He stayed where he stood, which looked creepy as all Hell from where he stood. "Whatchya doin' here?"

"S-Sans...." Dream's voice wavered as he took shaky steps forward. "S-Sans I-I'm so s-sorry..." He stumbled into a hug from the taller skele as tears streamed down his face. "I-m so sorry I let your family die like that...I should've been there-"

"It's not your fault kiddo," Sans comforted Dream as he hugged him. "Besides, they're back now so, we can forget this......anyway, wanna head back to get some hot cocoa?" Dream smiled and nodded as they headed back to the home in Snowdin.

\---------------------------------

"It says the coordinates are right this way..." Blueberry held a tracking device with both hands as he stared down at the screen.

"Is that it?" Nightmare looked on to a cave where the signals were coming from.

"Yeah, that's it alright...we should go tell Ink," Blueberry saved the points and took Nightmare's hand in which he'd pulled away immediately. Blueberry looked him a little strange, then stopped walking. A smirk crossed his face. "Oh IIIIIIII get it. Mweh heh. It's because you're not gay, right? Well, might I tell you that nor am I."

"W-what?!" Nightmare blushed enough to light the space up more and to melt snow. "That's not it! It's just because I barely know you!"

"So you're gay then?"

"Let's get going..." Nightmare hid his face in his blue moon scarf Dream made him and lead the way back to the Ruins where Ink was waiting for them.

"You found it?" Ink put his drawing pad away and turned his attention to his two teammates.

"Eyup." Blueberry announced cheerfully. But Nightmare just looked annoyed.

"Yeah," Nightmare spoke sort of cheered up, but not by much. "So, let's get going so that way we can get to that cave before whoever or whatever it is moving." He tugged on Ink's sleeve a bit as Blueberry stood by in thought.

"We've gotta go get Dream though..." Ink dragged the two all the way to Snowdin and right to the front door of Sans and Papyrus' house. He knocked loud enough for anyone anywhere in the house to hear.

"Ink," Sans was the first to greet him after opening the door. "Here for your friend?" He looked back for a moment, a smile continuously plastered to his skull.

"Mhm." Blueberry looked around for a moment before turning his attention to Sans. Which had to have been a really dumb idea since Nightmare was turned away and Ink was inside getting Dream. And while that was going on, Sans met his gaze and winked. Tell somebody how weird that is.

"Let's go!" Ink ran out of the house with Dream not too far behind him, then went Nightmare, but Blue stayed. He just looked at Sans for a moment and started seeing the similarities the skele and his brother had in common. Other than a simple wave goodbye and a strange look on his face, he ran off to catch up with the others. Sans just leaned against the door frame, recording them as he watched. His brother had to know that the Star Sanses were real, and they had all but one more extra helper. They sprinted through the woods until they'd finally reached the coordinates they'd been hunting for. The cave was dark minus a small amount of light that was shining out from deep within it.

"Somebody make Nightmare blush." Ink almost laughed at Blueberry's remark. Sure his face lit up when he blushed, but really. There was such a thing as flashlights or lightning bugs they could've used.

"Think about Cross." Dream snickered with Blueberry as the idea had worked. So with Nightmare in the lead like Rudolph on Christmas Eve, the rest followed and prepared for the unexpected. It could've been anything or anyone that caused the deadly signal to go out and knock out the G-Shields. But no one was for sure exactly who or what had done it. After a while, their light in the dark had died out, and they were standing in what looked like a makeshift house. An entry way of some sort to say the least. In the distance, small footsteps could be heard from further down the ever darker tunnel. A torch was held by a yellow, red, and black claw as a very small ERROR Gaster Blaster took their steps forward, staring back at the Sanses meant to protect and create.

"If your looking for trouble, you've found some. After all, you're breaking into my home without a permit." Vlare walked over to the group and looked up at them. Her eyes had a sweet core but a harsh cold outer shell hid most of it.

"Uh, hi! We were wondering if you knew anything about the incident earlier today." Dream smiled delicately and looked down at the Gaster Blaster with a kind expression.

"Something happened?" Vare looked up at them blankly. Her face showed an expression of either knowing everything or nothing, and it was a tough call for the Star Sanses to make.

"You know what we're talking about. It was you who sent the signal out to take down the G-Shields to our Galegon." Nightmare glared at her with poison laced eyes. It's not that he cared about the whole situation, it's just the fact that he cared for his brother so deeply that he wouldn't be able to live on if he got hurt because of some dumb ERROR Gaster Blaster. So that was his reason for wanting to help them.

"Really, I have no clue what your deal is..." She growled back at the threatening, young skeleton. The air grew thick with uneasiness for all of them as they stared on at one another. Things had been awkwardly quiet for quite some time when suddenly Vlare took each one in turn. She looked at each for an equal amount of time, leaving Blueberry last. No one had caught onto her actions until it'd already happened. She opened her jaw and fired straight at Blueberry. The attack was sure to be a lethal one. Leaving him dead in his tracks. Or...that was the plan at least. Nightmare had jumped in the to take the blast. Ink shielded Dream and sent him home quickly before he could see what had happened. Vlare had already run off as Ink and Blueberry huddled around the body on the ground. He was cold and seemed deadly ill. Luckily Vlare hadn't charged any ERROR attacks, or else he would've been dead. They picked him up and took him to Gel where he took watch responsibility of the young skele. Ink sent Blue home so that way he could rest while the leader decided what to do next. He knew that they all needed a definite break from everything, but what was different was that Dream was clueless about Nightmare's state. Normally he would've been informed right away, but Ink was left in worry that Dream would try something once told. He had incidents in the past, and he might just have them again only worse.

_Too bad nobody will know his state until next chapter..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I asked you to tell me what you do and do not like? Now's your chance to comment ans tell me.
> 
> (That means you Cafekitty. XD)


	32. Knowing Next to Nothing; Nowhere Near Something

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your support and hits and kudos! It's awesome to hear you enjoying my work-OH MY STARS THAT CAME OUT WRONG. XD Anyway, enough of my annoyance and onto the next glorious chapter!

The house had been dead silent for about an hour...no one had come home after the mission to seek out what knocked out the G-Shields except for Dream. He was curled up on the couch, wrapped in his brother's blanket. He was so worried for him. Worried for all three of them. Ink'd sent him home after murmuring something soothing to him. He wanted Dream to not worry, but it was hard for him not to. He knew he was meant to stay positive, but the thought of being sent away because something bad had happened worried him to death. He'd seen a flash and quick movement, but he wasn't sure what'd happened. He didn't know why he was sent away either. He was strong, right? Unless they didn't need him anymore. If Dream'd had a stomach, it would've been churning with anxiety and worry. He didn't like to think that something bad had happened, but something obviously did. Tears fell from his eyes and landed softly against what he was gripping so tightly to his chest. The blanket was all he had left of his brother to comfort him...he didn't like it though. He would rather be with his brother than being stuck at home alone in the quiet dark, gripping an object that was all he had left. Happy memories tried to make an appearance in Dream's head, but they were blocked out by the heavy thoughts of loss and sadness. He loved his brother more than anything and he had probably lost him. He wished he could've said something, or stepped in front of whatever attacked him. He'd wished he was the one to get fired at.

\-----------------------------

Terror swung a leg over the other as he thought about the offer. It would be for both of his brother's sakes...but it just didn't feel right to him...that was two sakes he had to worry about...until Ink sighed.

"Terror...I am so sorry that this happened, but...Nightmare...he...he passed away a couple minutes ago..." Ink held back tears as his voice shook with sadness. He felt so bad for all three brothers. Sorry that Dream had to live with loss, sad that Terror had to take care of Dream and live through the pain, but he was most sorry about not stepping in the way or acting sooner. He felt guilty most of all. His fault that they'll be in pain. His fault that a young skeleton with caring siblings had died before he could even see them one more time. Then he began regretting not leaving Dream there, or telling him what'd happened. Or brought him to his brother to say goodbye. As his mind was clouded, his vision blurred. After blinking a few times, he could see ahead clearly. Terror was silently weeping there. Covering his face with his hood and looking down at the ground. "I'm sorry..." Ink reached a hand out when it was smacked away by a flying knife.

"Yo." Cross walked over and stared at the two. They just glared at him. He was intruding on a grieving moment. A time of remembrance for the lost soul that had been taken away at such a young age. His life thrown away-no...stolen-ripped-torn. He was gone then...forever...

"Why are you so happy?" Terror wiped tears away from his eye as he turned towards the short skeleton.

"You all sad because you're little Nightmare's gone?" ERROR teased the two crying messes.

"What's the big deal guys? Nightmare never did anything to you." Ink eyed the two coldly.

"You're right," Cross sighed with a smile on his face. "He's dead, yeah sure. But there are plenty of ways to bring him back you know. We just need Terror here to shapeshift into Nightmare so that Dream doesn't die or anything. Just say that Terror's on evil Sans duty or something, but we just need time to bring the kid back." He summoned a circle of red knives before him and transformed them into his knife. The sharp blade just barely touched the tip of Terror's face.

"O-okay...fine...I'll do it...but you better bring him back. And quick," Terror grunted and cheered up a bit as he shape-shifted into Nightmare. Cross couldn't help but stare at him....they stared for a while. "Are you going or what?" He growled as he teleported away. Ink looked to ERROR and Cross.

"Come with us." ERROR lead the way for everyone as they stepped through a portal to Reapertale.

\--------------------------

"Dream! I'm home!" Nightmare closed the door behind him, sending the click of the lock resonating throughout the house. Dream sat up on the couch and turned to the doorway where his 'brother' stood.

"N-Nightmare?" He moved to sit up and walked over tiredly. Tears were still fresh in his eyes as he looked on at the sight he thought he would never see again. He looked him in the eyes with a gentle and pained look.

"Dream..." Nightmare hugged Dream right in an attempt to comfort his sibling. Well, things were working out sorta...unless something happens where Dream asks where's Terror is...

"How are the others?" Dream rubbed circles into Nightmare's back near his spine as he cried into his neck.

"They're fine, nobody was hurt." Nightmare faked a smile as Dream pulled away to clarify the information.

"You're lying...what happened? Who's hurt? Are they okay? Was it you?" Dream's tears flowed down at an even pace as he looked on.

"Dream, it's okay...it was just a scratch. It's really small. I'm fine." He smiled at his brother and hugged him quickly to hide his eyes. He began to worry that Dream would catch on quicker than him and the others and thought. If he found out the truth, who knows what he would do...he could be pretty unpredictable at times.

"Okay...at least everyone's safe..." Dream backed up again to take on what he looked like. "Where's the scarf I made you?" He crossed his arms in disbelief as he glared on at his 'brother'.

"It's in my room. I took it off before-"

"Nightmare would never take that scarf off...so who are you?" Dream reached behind him and pulled his staff out of mid air. Terror shape-shifter back into his natural form and looked on guiltily. 

"Dream...I was worried you'd do something you'd regret, so I did this...look...." Tears spilt from his only eye. "Nightmare...he's...dead..." Terror could barely hold himself upright. The pain was so intense to lose someone he'd loved so move. They were practically all brothers although Terror only slightly counted. But even so, they loved each other.

"I'm done." He dissipated his staff and stomped off to the front door.

"Dream no! Wait please!" Terror reached out a hand as he tried to keep himself together. But it was too late. Opening the door, Dream closed it swiftly behind him as he ran into the woods on quick light feet. His tears glistened and shimmered in the moonlight as he kept sprinting. He thought that if he kept going, he would keep forgetting about the pain he'd felt. He would run away and never return. Go to sleep and never wake up. But he didn't want to sleep. He wanted revenge. He would kill the people who didn't help his brother. The Star Sanses, Ink and Blueberry.

\-------------------------

After hours and hours of running, he finally collapsed against a tree trunk, that was until he fell through it and ended up Ina place he hadn't visited in a long time. Looking around the dimly lit town, he headed over to the familiar house that housed some good friends. He knocked on the door with determination as who he'd expected answered.

"Dream?"

_Evil was the new optimist turned pessimist._


	33. Dark Stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long! I was on a big break from school and everything. lol. Now that I'm back, I'll be sure to try and update asap. Sorry it's so short too. ;-; I'm workin on a lot of stuff lately. Enjoy though!

"Thanks for letting me in." Dream murmured as he sipped at a cup of OJ. His eyes were somewhat dull, but at the same time were bright with something else along the lines of negativity.

"So, what brings you? After all, you haven't shown your face around here in forever and you only come when it's something important." Marvul sat down on the couch next to his X-Brother and eyed him curiously. It was rather rare to find someone from another Multiverse around there.

"Nightmare's dead...and it's all Ink and Bluberry's fault." Dream stared into the citric like liquid within the plastic cup in his hands. They gripped tightly at it like it was a lifeline and if he let go, he would die. Marvul looked on at the seemingly harmless skeleton. Maybe he really wanted revenge...and if so, he wasn't just gonna let Dream take care of it on his own. After all, he had connections that could help anyone in need of reinforcements...

"Okay...I'll help you.That seems reason enough to want to kick their asses," Marvul smiled evilly as he took the cup gently from the smol's hands and walked off into the kitchen. "You're lucky they're here right now." His smile grew as he came out with a few other swaps behind him.

"Thank you..." Dream stood on sturdy feet as he walked over to greet the other members of the team.

"This here is-"

"I'll introduce myself," A skeleton who looked like he might've been the swap of ERROR interrupted Marvul as he looked down at Dream with dislike. "I'm Reboot." He spoke without a care in the world as he brushed off the fact he even existed by walking out of the kitchen and heading to the door.

"Hey! Don't leave yet, after all...we need a plan to take those bitch ass other Multiverse playground preschoolers down," Another skeleton spoke. He looked like he may have represented the swap of Ink, but also ERROR...he turned to the newcomer. "Oh, I'm Eraser. Call me Racy though. It's just easier that way." He smiled a bit.

"I don't give two shits about this kid or where he comes from. I don't wanna help another worthless after last time..." Reboot stood his ground as he reached fri the door knob.

"Can we all agree that helping this kid will help us take down our enemies?" Another skele who seemed to be the swap of Nightmare stood quit shortly by the fridge. He'd been there the whole time come to think of it...

"Fine...but...last time, got it?" His eyes went soft as he walked back over to the group with his arms crossed.

"That's Halluciv...he uh..." Marvul leaned in close so only Dream could hear. "Has some issues since w found out that Xcellence wasn't gonna be around as often," He backed up again so that everyone could clearly hear him. "But he was able to make it tonight luckily. Just in time to meet my little 'brother'." He smiled as he grabbed hold of Dream older brotherly.

"He's alternate you. An enemy too. He's not even your little brother either." Xcellence pointed out from the kitchen counter. He sat there examining one of his swords while Halluciv watched his every move with a hawk like eye. Zeroed in on his prey-or...mate. Heheehheheehhehe.

"So this is it?" Dream looked around at the five in shock. He was sure it any plan would need that many soldiers. Then again they also wanted into the other Multiverse. It was like they were helping each other since dream wanted revenge and the swaps wanted to fight. Once they helped Dream though, he was sure their truce would be compensated and then he would be on his own.

"Yeah, problem?" Racy looked over at the smol in suspicion.

"N-no! Not at all! It's just, never mind..." Dream looked down for a moment before looking back up. "So what's the plan?"

"Before we come up with one, I have a question," Halluciv pushed himself off the wall and headed over to his alternate brother. "How can we be sure he wasn't sent here as a spy?"

"His pupils would've shrunk. That's what happens when people lie." Marvul pulled his sibling away and peered down at him.

"How can you be so sure?" Halluciv just stared up at him.

"You're in love with Xcellence right? He's your Senpai?" Marvul smirked down at Halluciv as he saw how taken aback he was.

"Not true." He tried to turn away, but his either held his face to look him straight in the eyes. He could tell there was sort of message being spread around the room as he was let go and walked away.

"Truth be told," Xcellence slid off the counter and gracefully put his sword back into its sheath. He strutted over to his chan and eyes him. "You do?"

"Uh-"

"That's enough! Let's just get this planned out before I drop dead." Racy held his face with a hand as he eyed Dream secretly. He didn't trust the kid. He was Marvul's cousin-brother-or something and he was from Another Multiverse. Who knew if Dream was lying to them.

\-----------------

The room was left to be freezing cold. With only two people sitting in the room, a leader and his deputy, things were dead quiet. Dream had run off, and Nightmare was still left dead and yet to be revived. So the only Star Sanses left were Blueberry and Ink.

"It's not the same without them..." Ink sighed as he laid his head down on the table before him. He looked to Blue, who looked like he was a little angry about something. "Hey, what's up?" He grunted as he turned away for a moment.

"It may be lonely, but we still have a job to do. I miss Dream, I really do. But we need to learn that not everyone will stay by our sides forever." He sighed quietly as he turned away again.

"I-I know, I just don't like to think about it...but what about Nightmare? He's helped a lot-"

"Well not enough! He's just been dragging us down with his issues. Even if he helps sometimes and can be good at fighting, but that doesn't mean that he also hasn't been slacking off. I'm just...can we just end here so I can get him and not have to deal with this anymore?"

"Hey, it's okay...I miss Dream too, and for now, let's wait for Nightmare to get back before we make any final decisions. For now, we should get looking for Dream." Ink smiled reassuringly as he stood and took Blueberry up from his chair. A glint of hope in his eyes as he looked down at the smol.

"Okay..." He sniffled and stood on his own two feet as they headed out of the IDMR and over to another room within the large, spacious building. Their soft footsteps echoed down the cream coloured halls as they made their way to a dark purple-blue room. In its centre held a black orb with moving swirls of colours.

"Let's see where they kid ran off to..." Ink walked right up the stand with the orb and swiped a finger across it. A screen lit up within the cylinder displaying the location of Dream. There he was laying on the couch of Marvul's home. He wasn't alone though. The swapped version of the Star Sanses, or Dark Stars, stood in the kitchen speaking quietly over something not hear by Ink. All that could be heard was static. Which meant they were blocking out the audio with some sort of magic. Or it was just broken. Blueberry stepped forward and looked at the small ball of light to notice the surroundings and Dream. He looked to his leader with worry as dark images flashed within his mind.

"We need to get him out of there." He tugged on Ink's sleeve needily.

"We can't get him alone." Ink smiled plainly as a list of people's names scrolled through his vision. He would get the alternates to the swaps and take them down. It would take some convincing for the others to join him. But if he brought war against the swaps, they'd be sure to join in.

"Let's get help then-"

"I'm sure you'll be needing me too though." Nightmare strolled in casually. His eyes resting upon the two as they stared on. Blue in annoyance, Ink in joy.

"And me!" Cross fell in from behind Nightmare after tripping over his own feet. Luckily he raised a thumb up to show he was fine.

"Heh heh. Loser." ERROR smirked as he leaned against the frame of the entry way. He looked right at Ink, his eyelids lowered slightly. Ink could just blush his insane rainbow but off as he hid behind his scarf.

"Doki doki senpai." Vlare came from behind him to surprise everyone and make them all jump.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE YOU-"

"Terror seriously. I'm on the other team." The small ERROR Gaster Blaster smirked with youth as she ran off through a random portal. Leaving the whole gang to sigh from annoyance at each other's presence.

"Well come on. We've gotta plan to make." Ink smiled, determined, as he put his hand out for a team group up.


	34. Girl Fights

The night had gone from normal to tense when Dream had made an unexpected appearance in the Swap Multiverse. Marvul had invited him in and was told of everything that had caused Dream to come his way. With that, the Swaps were called together to form a master plan to not only help give the smol revenge, but also a fight of their own. While he was resting on the couch, they talked their plan through and were heading out by the next morning. It was going to be the biggest war in history, so Halluciv said, so they needed to be prepared and win. In the other Multiverse, the Originals were getting ready as well in order to fight and bring back their Dream Sans. Things weren't going to be easy with different time zones, but they were ready and waiting at the borderline for their enemies arrival. Night falling on their side, with day rising on the other.

"Come on, we gotta go." Racy poked at Dreams face to wake him up. It was just so squishy. He kept poking his face until he got pushed away lightly and the smol sat up yawning peacefully.

"We don't have much time before we lose our chance." Reboot stood by the door, gun in hand. Racy couldn't help but blush whenever he looked back at him. He just looked so hot with that in his reach.

"Let me do it." Halluciv shoved Racy out of the way and pulled Dream off the couch, dragging him outside and throwing him forward.

"That was a little rude," Marvul brushed past his brother roughly as he walked forward to lift Dream up. "You okay?"

"Yeah, fine...let's get going then." Dream yawned again until he finally opened his eyes all the way and stretched.

"Made it!" Vlare shouted as she ran over on light small feet. "You all ready to kick some ass?" She looked around at all of the members as a sly smile spread across her skull.

"Let's just get this over with." Xcellence led the way out into woods as they made their way to the battlefield. All followed very determined as they knew they were more prepared to invade than ever. The originals didn't know about their master plan, and they had more help than they could ever need. Until they came to the county line to find it was an army against a small band of criminals. But they didn't have but a few more people so it seemed.

"You couldn't have taken longer?" Terror yawned lazily as he looked at the other side.

"Shut up." Halluciv went right up to the line and glared across at the alternate him.

"Can we just get this over with. I've got a lot to do back home." Studio looked over at his brother and thought about whether or not to run away. The originals stood and walked over to the line to look over at the swaps.

"Looking for this?" Racy gestured to Xcellence who held a sword to Dream's neck. The originals looked on in horror and fear as the blade was drawn across Dream's neck.

"STREET RULES NOW SUCKER." ERROR wrapped Xcellence and Vlare in his strings and took them off to the side to deal with. The others just glared at the Swaps as they looked down sadly or up in pure shock.

"I didn't think he'd do that...I didn't even know we'd go against him..." Marvul rushed over to Dream with tears in his eyes as he calmly lifted his 'sibling'.

"Here..." Studio walked over and spread some pink paint across his sliced neck. "It'll take a moment to sink in and heal." He stood up from the spot in the grass and walked over to Cross, who was spilling his own tears as Tanz tried comforting him.

"You should be crying," Cross suddenly spit. Drawing attention from everyone, even Dream. He looked Tanz straight in the eyes. "You should be upset, not saying those things so plainly. You comfort me if I know you don't feel the way you say. You don't understand what this is like." He cried more as he shoved himself out of his spouses reach and walked a few feet away, clearly upset over the situation.

"Cross...please don't say those things..." Dream lifted his head up to look over in the smol's direction, tears in his own eyes as he spoke. "You know they're not true...you love Tanz..." He smiled a bit in worry that he looked too sad to be himself.

"C'mere." Terror took Cross into his arms and rubbed his back and arms comfortingly.

"I-I change my mind. I d-don't want to marry you." Cross shoved his face into Terror's goo and cried. He didn't know what to think of Tanz. Maybe it was all just too much for him just then and he just started collapsing. Maybe he just needed a break. But he wasn't ready to commit to anything at that moment. Tanz stepped back, emotions hitting him all at once, but he wouldn't show them.

"O-okay...if that's what you want..." He yanked his hood up and looked down at the dirt and grass as he slid the ring off his finger just to toss it in Cross's direction. At that moment he walked back they way they had all came. Everyone just stayed still and looked on as Cross cried into Terror's chest. He made a look that showed he was going to take care of the issue, so with that, he teleported himself and Cross to X-Tale.

"Now that that's taken care of," Blueberry sniffled as he stomped over angrily to where Marvul and Dream sat and lay. "You're such a backstabber! You really trusted these guys to help you? To get back at us for something none of us caused?" He wiped tears away roughly from his cheeks as he looked glared down at Dream.

"Blue...I'm sorry...can I explain later? Maybe at a meeting or something? I'm just a little...tired.....right........now........" Dream spoke quietly as his eyes fell shut. Marvul lifted Dream in his arms and looked to Blueberry.

"Just talk to him later. Right now he needs to rest and recover, okay?" He looked away to find Nightmare right in his face.

"I'll take him..." He reached his arms out and gracefully took his brother into his arms. He walked back over to Ink and the others and nodded.

"Wait," Racy walked to stand before the Swaps in a leadership formation. "How about a truce? We can be friends?" Everyone on the other side of the barrier like line looked over to the Swaps and smiled a bit.

"Sure." Ink smiled the brightest of them all as he led his own group back home and away from the line that separated them from crossover.

"Hey wait for a second here! I'm the leader!" Marvul glared evilly at Racy as everyone else just laughed.

\--------------------------

"Please promise me that nothing else bad will happen..." Tanz sat before a dark figure in the shadows of the forest. The man like voice chuckled darkly.

"I can't promise you a thing, my son...but I can tell you that other's futures will not be as dark as yours. You've already begun to fail me as an experiment. You're turning out like your brother. But I can stop that."

"What? No?!"

\--------------------------

"Hey Dream." Cross walked over quietly to Dream as he stood with a few other Sans leaders.

"Excuse me," Dream gently left the conversation and turned around to face the skeleton who wanted his attention. "Hey, Cross! What's up?"

"Oh nothing much, hey have you seen Tanz?" He looked around nervously for a moment.

"No, I haven't. I'm sure he's around here somewhere though." The smol smiled cheerfully as he turned back to the leaders. Funny story actually. He never did imagine that he would sit at the end of the table by the leaders. But he had been considered one since he protected everyone's hopes and Dreams. He was also considered a popular person to go to for counselling and help if anyone needed any. Despite this rise being noticed, he continued to be a good friend to everyone he had already known.

"Hey, have you seen Tanz?" Cross whispered to what appeared to be himself. But he wasn't alone.

"Do you think I still talk to you?" X-Tale Chara grunted as he appeared by Cross's side.

"Please talk to me?" Cross begged his brother with big eyes as his worry steadily rose. The ghost sighed.

"Look...I know I've been gone for a while and it's because I've been thinking...I want to be free from you. Not that I don't like you as a sibling or anything, it's just that-"

"Tanz!" Cross ran away from his brother and over to the skeleton he'd been missing so dearly.

"Hey Cross! Sorry, I'm late. Geno called me over for help taking care of something." The joyous skeletons smiled and laughed as they headed back over to the IDMR's table. Everyone took their seats as X-Tale Chara stayed by the front, resisting the central urge to go back to his brother's side. He didn't want the feeling of being trapped to drape him like an infinite fog. He wanted to be free. That's why he was evil. Why he did so many bad things. He wanted the freedom to leave his Universe and explore others. Wanted to learn things other than the history of his own home. Wanted to meet people with ecstatic personalities. **He wanted to talk to Gel and sit in his lap as they watched the star's slow rise on the horizon. To be able to run in a field of wild flowers with his boy friend. Wearing flower crowns, playing tag, then ending with a fall to the ground in the middle of it all to look up at the beautiful sky.** He only wanted to live his life freely without rules. Without being tied down. **Without Cross.** But none of that could happen unless he tried to make a statement to the Sanses at the meeting. That was his only chance of earning his rights as a human in Galegon back. Without hesitation, he walked over to the meeting where everyone was going quiet and getting settled in their seats. But only Cross, Geno, ERROR, and Nightmare could see the ghost as he made his way up onto the table. He stood there looking around for a moment. The ones who noticed him were caught staring weirdly by Ink.

"Uhm, can you guys stop doing whatever it is you're doing?" The leader at the head of the table just looked at them, waiting for them to turn their heads to him for the start of the meeting. Others in the room soon looked at the ones watching and began to become aware that they weren't just staring at air.

"Get down from there! Seriously!" Cross hissed a whisper to his brother as he refused to move. At that point, everyone turned to Cross. The first one to talk to the invisible person.

"Who is it?" Dream murmured to Rain on is left in suspicion. Suddenly, a piece of paper floated before everyone above the table. Next, they saw a pencil as it began writing. All people could do was watch in awe as the pencil appeared to be put away into some sort of invisible pocket, leaving the paper to float its way over to Ink. He took the paper suspiciously as he turned it over to read it. Meanwhile, X-Tale Chara hopped off the table by Cross and smiled with a smug look.

"What'd you do that for? What's on the paper?" Cross whispered so no one but the two people sitting next to him could hear. But his brother did nothing but laugh and look away as he thought about how dumb the bag of bones was. Ink cleared his throat and stood to set the paper down. He looked around nervously for a second.

"X-Tale Chara? If you're with Cross or still in here, I'll recover your soul, but you have to promise that you'll change." He turned to Cross, knowing that he would know where his demon of a sibling had run off to.

"He said he agrees," ERROR looked down at his hands which were gently placed in his lap as he was leaning back in his chair. Without glancing up, he smiled. "Which means we won't have to deal with the little brat's complaining anymore. Or, at least for the people who can hear him."

"Well, we can deal with it after-" Ink was cut off when he felt urgent tapping on his right and whispering near his skull.

"You will not wait for the meeting and we will deal with this right now." X-Tale Chara hissed to the leader as he poked at his arm. When the man of high authority finally let out a sigh, he backed away and waited for Ink to lead the way out of the room and head somewhere private where they could-

"Alright, we'll get this done right here. And, right now since you insist..." Ink rose from his seat and stood near where X-Tale Chara was. They walked over to a corner of the room where all eyes began to stare in curiosity and excitement.

"Ink!" Decans stood up and held a hand out to the leader for him to stop. "How do we know for sure that we can trust him?" His eyes grow fresh with worry as everyone else sat in silence. Numbing it over as the clock ticked time away.

"Because I said so." No one else dare said another word as the leader made his final decision. Pulling Arcencial from his back, he swiped {him?} in front of himself, where the outline of a person could be seen. He was very short and had some cool yet strange style of hair. People watched in awe as the ghost that had been harassing Cross, and annoying everyone had been revealed to be a teen boy. Looked about to be the age of 13 maybe older, maybe younger. But not by much. He put his brush back in its holster as he turned to look at the child. Everyone's eyes were lit with realization and curiosity.

"I..." X-Tale Chara put his hands in front of himself and looked them over, moving his fingers as he did so. His eye met with Ink, his other eye covered by hair, and smiled. "I don't know what to say...thank you." He launched forward and wrapped his small arms around the taller skeleton. They stood there, Ink in shock, C in comfort.

"You're welcome..." Ink whispered into the kid's ear. He didn't bother reminding C of their deal. The kid seemed trustworthy enough since he was crying in his arms.

"Uhhh...can we get to the meeting?" Terror poked his head out from under the table near his spot on the opposite end of the table, near where the two friends had been reunited. He and other evil Sanses sat on the opposite end to the good ones. It sort of helped prevent conflict, but the people in the middle were kind of pressured whether they belonged one side or the other. Thankfully it wasn't much of a big deal since the neutrals were practically their own class.

"He's not supposed to be here, he's a 'Chara'."

"Wait has he been with Cross this whole time?"

"He knows our plans kill him!"

Chatter filled the room as voices drowned out the leaders' voices.

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP." Jasper stood and slammed his fists on the table.

"Th-thank you, and, sorry to interrupt the meeting. I know how important it is to you guys to stay in touch or whatever," C sniffled and let go of Ink as they headed to the door. "I don't pay attention to your meetings. Only the people in them. I'll be right outside this door, so Cross-"

"Wha-"

"Don't forget me." Then he walked out of the room and stood outside of the enormous doors in wait. He slumped to the ground, his butt hitting the marble flooring. _AGH JEEZ. I forgot how painful it was being back as a human...well, at least I'm not empty anymore..._ Pulling his soul from his chest, he caressed it gently in his hands. Smiling from the warmth it was feeding to him. _But not just physical pain. It's also emotional...or...mainly, emotional._

\---------------------------

The meeting went pleasantly after the interruption thankfully. Words flowing smoothly from everyone. Well except Jasper. He hated when things were off schedule. He was a busy Sans from Swapfell, and he hated being away from his brother when he was off and could be causing trouble in the AU. Or just at home.

"As I was trying to say before," Studio rushed to catch up to his brother as they were going to leave the IDMR. "There are new AUs being brought to the Galegon tomorrow morning at 8:30." He was practically out of breath when they were halfway down the hall. He wasn't much shorter than Ink, but his stamina was crap.

"Thanks for telling me Stud. See ya!" That's of course when instead of Ink being left behind, as usual, it was his brother. But alone was never alone, because someone's always watching.

**OR READING**


	35. A Turn In Eventz

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so, me and Mikegriz came up with a kewl new part for thiz chapter, and with all of the detailz, that'z why thiz one took 50 million yearz. XD But I hope ya'll like it cauze I kinda worked my butt off. ;-; But I've never written a Reader fanfic, so I guess there is room to judge. Enjoy my firzt reader ztyled zection! (It should just be this chapter btw. So don't get your hopes up-er down idk XD)

**No matter where you are, they'll see you reading. They know, of course. They've always known. And they're fed up with you lying, sitting, standing. Just doing nothing but seeing as they suffered. Could you have done something? Help or harm? They're not for sure. But you are a suspect, so don't think you'll get away that easily. As the creator of this Hellish story, I wish you the best of luck.**

 

___________________

You stare into your screen as you always do each day or night. Your day had been a shitty one, and reading a fanfic was all you'd been looking up to. After opening a new window, you hunted through your excessive amount of bookmarks to find three simple characters.

AO3

Immediately, your previously viewed stories appeared and you scrolled through to find an updated one. Suddenly, you found it.

SUFFERING BUT STILL ALIVE  
Hay_14

Excitement wasn't really what you got from the story. It was actually quite boring at times. You didn't hate it, nor did you love it. It was just something simple and laid back at times with the occasional too much is going on. So you click on the title and smile to yourself as the screen loads. Your smile soon fades when you realize the lag is unbelievable. You curse to Archive of Our Own when suddenly your screen turns black. You try everything to restart your device, refresh the page, exit it, everything. But it was just pitch black. Then, the lights in your home go out, leaving you in the dark and alone. Your fear doesn't rise in thought that wasn't anything too serious. That was until your electronic turns back on. You sit there trying to block an ever growing white light that attempts to blind you. On instinct, you put your hands up to try and cover up the blinding white. You think you might go blind as it doesn't stop. There's no noise but your whimpers and cries to try and block the light. You'd close your eyes if you weren't so paranoid about the Ring movie. Who knows what could crawl out of the screen before you. The light grows so bright that you can see the bones in your hand and arm. But once you close your eyes, you feel like jello.

Weightless.

Thoughtless.

Are you dead?

___________________

Your right cheek lay up against a cream or white coloured floor. You are cold and confused. Recalling the past, you were trying to read a fanfiction when the page wouldn't load and then...you can't remember the rest. Just that. The smell of cleaning supplies and paint quickly hit you as your senses return. Sitting up, you hold support yourself with a hand to the marble flooring as you rub at your throbbing skull. Where are you? What happened? And...who are you?

You don't know a thing other than English and what happened an hour before the incident that must've sent you here. So without a clue as to what to do, you examine your surroundings. Paintings were evenly placed along the walls depicting events that must've occurred in the past. You can't get it through your head what exactly you were seeing. The people in the paintings looked almost like skeletons of different styles and heights. One consisted of three skeles standing in a team circle with one hand raised to the sky in the centre. The shortest one wore a yellow crown like thing, yellow cape and boots with some sort of belt with fabric hanging from it. He was on the left while the other two were a little taller than him. The one on the left had blue starry eyes and a bandanna along with boots. The one in the middle had more detail than the other two as he was standing in the middle. He looked to be the leader.

"Hello!" A voice echoes down the vast corridor as your memory slowly begins returning. Your name, address, age, ect. And you definitely began to recognize where you are. Your recovery was interrupted when a hand was in your face. You take it gladly, thinking that you'll be better once you're safe with them. "It's okay. I'm going to take you to a safe place where you can stay and recover." The voice was a little rough and the person-er-skeleton? You try to ignore that he's a skeleton and think that it's just from a concussion. What hits you the hardest though, as that the guy smells like blood and iron. Murder is what he smells like. Maybe you have a nosebleed. He wraps his arms around you and lifts you up to take you over to a group of people. More skeletons actually. Between them is a green wispy oval that sparks every now and again.

"Don't be afraid, we've got you." A much shorter skeleton walks over to you and with the one holding you. You pay more attention to detail on the second skeleton. If he breaks his word, you could always get at him and then find the one holding you. They say you'll be safe. They're trying to reassure you. You're still sure you're dreaming though. The smaller skeleton has blue eyes that could pierce an ear they are so bright. He actually kind of looks like the medium height skeleton from the painting you woke up to see. Only he wears black and red instead of blue and grey.

"Get ready." The smell of blood grew more heavily as the stranger tucks you into his chest and walks through the strange oval, knocking you out as you enter first.

___________________

Some people say that dreams can take you to other dimensions. To other worlds. Then others think that they're true fiction. Just images in your mind.

So you must be dreaming, right?

___________________

_Clank_

_Clank_

You awake to hear the sound of chains rustling against one another. Slumped against a cold grey wall, your eyes readjust to the new lighting. Things were dark and blurry. Light singing in only from up a set of stairs. Looking around yourself, you find yourself chained to the wall by large cuffs that are tight and heavy. A breeze blows in from beneath the door and comes down the stairs in puffs of fog. Worry and fear fill your head as you get a feeling of being alone and trapped. Like a caged animal you are stuck in one spot with amnesia as to where you are. Blasted...your memory was still returning. And just as your heart rate picks up, you realize where you are. You don't know how you don't know why. But you are stuck in the fanfiction you have been reading for too long to count. 34? 35 chapters now? But that is the least of your worries. You are trapped not only in fiction but in Swapfell as well. Loud crashes and yelling from behind the door make you jump and shiver. Is it him? Jasper? Is he going to get you?

But then it was cut off as running was heard. The click of a lock breaking from a loud blast broke the door open and caused it to come down the stairs. Two small figures stood on the wooden plank as it slid down the stairs. The worry leaves your soul as curiosity and excitement replaced it. You sat up, your hands still bound behind your back. Glancing up, someone stood at the top of the staircase. A silhouette of another skeleton and a long scarf could be seen. Something is also on his back. You snap back to the two skeles you'd seen on the door to find that medium height skeleton from the picture breaking the locks to your hand cuffs. Well, they aren't exactly hand cuffs. They're more like anchors with a keyhole that must be impossible to unlock. He made cute noises of struggle as he used four lock picks to undo the curse placed upon you.

"Don't worry," A small voice speaks from in front of you. It is the smallest skeleton from the painting, which means that the other skele at the top of the staircase is the rainbow one. You decide to name them since there have been no introductions. Blue, Yellow, and Rainbow. That's the best you can do. "We're so sorry we didn't get to you first. We had no idea." Yellow smiles a little as his-wait is Yellow a girl?-face fills with a slight bit of worry towards you. The leader hasn't moved or spoken since he made an appearance upstairs, which worries you a little to think that this could be another gang of criminals. They help you up and lead up up the stairs. Looking ahead nervously at their leader, he smiles.

"It's okay now," Rainbow smiles as he takes you into a hug. "It's nice to finally meet you..."

\---------------------------------

"But they can't be." A small voice awakens you from your quiet slumber. The feeling of leather rubs against your skin as you peel yourself up to sit against the back of a couch.

"Yes they are. Look at them! Ink warned us about-"

"No they're not!" Yellow stomps a foot down as tears spill from his adorable little sparkling eyes. He swings his head to the side and clenches his gloved hands. You open your mouth to speak, but nothing but a choking noise comes out. You hold your throat as your eyes water. The smallest skeleton runs to your aid and sits on the couch beside you. "He didn't mean anything he said, he's just confused about it like the rest of us...are you okay?" He holds out a glass of cold water. You gladly accept it being it is that you're not rude. The water trickles down your throat coldly as you look around.

"Blueberry, what'd I say about theories?" Rainbow walks into the room from a room off to the left as he steps towards the skele you nicknamed Blue. Seems the name you gave suits him just right. But you still don't know the other names...

"But you said it yourself! This is the human from the other world. The one who's been watching us suffer all this time-"

"I know what I said. And you're right. But this could be the person causing us to feel pain...or just another human. We have no right to judge them up until we have a better understanding of them and their past. So you can...just, I'm sorry Blue just be careful what you say next time, okay?" Blueberry huffs as he walks over to you and Yellow.

"I'm sorry about what I'd said...I'm Blueberry but you can just call me Blue." He holds a blue gloved hand out to you which you accept, grateful for his respect. He takes a seat on the other side of you as Yellow takes the now empty glass from your hands. He crawls across the couch to set it down on a black table with a small lamp which lightly lights the room up.

"Oh right! I'm Dream!" Yellow smiles cheerfully as though he hadn't just been crying beside you. He hugs your happily to show friendship or something. Then Rainbow steps up.

"I'm Ink. Leader of the Star Sanses," He gestures to Blue and Dream. "And protector of Alternate Universes. It's nice to meet you now that you're safe." He smiles that smile from...the night before? You're not entirely sure about the timing around here yet.

"Do you have a name?" Blueberry pokes his head in your face and stares at you with blue starry eyes. Again, you try to speak but only end up coughing. Ink sighs and heads over to the table where the glass you drank out of sight. He fills it up with some dark blue paint from a bone shaped glass container he holds on a belt across his torso.

"I'm sorry this happened to you," Dream holds your hand and rubs it slowly. "If you still can't speak after this, I hope you can write." He looks into your eyes seriously for a moment. As if to warn you of something. Then he turns to Ink who hands him the paint filled glass. Dream turns back to you and offers the drink.

"I know you probably think it's weird to drink this, but, it will help you recover memories you've lost, and maybe your voice." Ink speaks clearly as he sits down on the dark wood floor before the couch. You gulp down the liquid to save yourself from the flavour. Memories, thoughts, everything flashes across your vision and blocks your average train of sight and thought. Once it's clear, you fall against the skeleton on your right who wraps their arms around you and pets your head comfortingly.

"We can talk later. Dream will show you to where you're staying and give you food. Maybe explain a few things. But Blueberry, you can come with me. We need to talk." Ink smiles as he walks out of the room and heads outside. Blue hops off the couch and sat right on Ink's tailbone. You blink at Dream, who lets go of you and slides off the couch, the leather barely moving from his light weight.

"I'll take you upstairs to your room and then you can come down for some food." His smile spreads wide and gleefully across his skull as he skips off to the stairs. He seems like a pretty optimistic and sweet enough to trust, so maybe he can tell you what exactly is going on around here. Your thoughts wander as you rise to your feet, suddenly draped in a blanket as you rush after Dream who's already at the top of the staircase waiting for you. He smiles out of great habit so it seems as he urges you on to enter a room through a door he opens quickly. You smile yourself as you walk over and peer into the room. It's the usual look of a guest room. Light blue walls with lighter blue trim along the corners, a bed covered in white and light grey. If it weren't for the floor, windows, and ceiling, you'd think you were in the sky. But you're not. You enter the room and make a small circle in one spot examining the room.

"I hope you like it," Dream says sweetly. "Though, I am pretty sorry there aren't any clothes or anything that will fit you...we can always figure that stuff out later." He holds his hands before himself as he looks down a little guilty for not fixing things up for you. You silently wish he understood that things are just fine the way they are. In fact, even better! You sigh and walk over to him, abandoning the blanket on the floor as you wrap your arms around him. He jumps, a bit surprised at your sudden care, and hugs you back. You stay there for a moment before backing away from one another. He raises his small hands to his mouth in a gasp.

"I almost forgot! I'll be downstairs if you need me." Dream rushes out of the room and flees downstairs to the kitchen. You sigh again and turn around to look at the room once more. Everything seems so soft and delicate. But as you hop onto the bed you realize that not everything is as fragile as you'd thought. You cuddle the blanket you'd thrown down to your chest as you quietly hum the Star Sans theme. Suddenly, the room fills with the aroma of seasonings and bread. A puddle forms in your mouth at the delicious scents you take in. Then you realize that you might want to head downstairs. You can always jump on the bed later. The smells increase in strength as you head down the stairs, the blanket wrapped around you again. You spot Dream standing at the kitchen table setting down three bowls of some strange-good-stew or soup. Leaning against the wall next to the stove, you watch him.

"Just in time," Dream smiles cheerfully for the millionth time as he turns the stove off and puts a lid on a large pot. "It's an old recipe my brother taught me, so it's obviously going to be great, but not amazing. Nightmare's the best chef in the Galegon." He chuckles and leads you over to a chair at the kitchen table. You sit, thankful for the smol's generosity. Dream sits on your left, already blowing lightly on a spoonful of the concoction. You blow on your own spoon as you look across the table and next to where Dream sits. The third bowl sits still except for the swirls of steam that rise from the hot liquid within it. Dream notices where your gaze lays and sighs.

"My brother," He starts. "He's always off doing something, but he's never missed anything. He'll be here in a second." Dream eyed the spoon before his mouth and took a sip of the broth. You begin to worry about the brother that will show up. His name's Nightmare, and he might just cause you to have what he is. Finally, steam stops floating up from your spoon and you bring it closer to your mouth. The scent of the brew is truly arousing and pleasing to you as you cautiously sip in the warm liquid. Your eyes widen with enjoyment and love as your taste buds dance from the advance and unique spice ridden flavours that sit in your mouth. Dream laughs a bit as he watches your reactions. You lean over your bowl and began to stuff spoonfuls of the still burning hot liquid into your mouth. Lifting the bowl, you pour the last drops of the soup into your mouth and take a giant gulp. Exhaling, you wipe your mouth a napkin and hiccup. Dream just sits there laughing silently as half of his bowl is still full.

"Sorry I'm late," A skeleton not much taller than Dream sits beside him and looks at the bowl before him, then to the front of the table where you sit. "What'd I miss?" He looks to his sibling with his head turned but keep his eyeslights on you.

"Oh, this is...this is a human from another Galegon-or Multiverse-or Alternate Universe. Nobody's sure yet...Ink and Blue are having a meeting right now about what's going on. and they're here for now while things get worked out. Oh, and this is Nightmare!" He smiles at you as his brother scowls.

"Don't tell them anything about me! We don't even know them I don't need a random human to sneak through my personal stuff. You can't help but smile as you watch the newcomer turn his face away with a look of embarrassment and annoyance. After a few moments of awkward sitting, he turns back around to face the food before him and start to take spoonfuls into his mouth. Which is pretty interesting since he's a skeleton, and that's straight up weird and magical. Then again everything you've been through so far has been that way. You watch him curiously as he avoids the two of you at the table. He seems like the lonely undernourished sibling. As if no one ever really cared for him. A feeling of pity falls upon you when he finally looks up and over at you.

"Sorry..." He mumbles as if to hide his feelings. You can't help but smile at his attempt to feel actual emotions other than hate. Dream gasps beside him and rushes out of the room. You follow him with your eyes to the very limits, where he's already upstairs and running down the hall to one of the rooms. "And sorry for that too, heh." Nightmare pushes his soup ahead of himself and moves to Dream's seat. You stare at one another in anticipation for the other to speak. "I'm guessing that you can't talk. Which makes sense considering what's happened to you." He laughs a bit, sending ripples of fear through you. "Anyway...I might as well explain some things to you since you're new and I bet no one has yet." He slides the chair closer to where you sit. "So, you obviously know Undertale from what I can tell. You already know everyone and how they act. Some of them suspicious, some of them not. Anyway, you came in through some sort of GP, a Galegon Portal. It's where you travel to different Galegons just by thinking of the place. So, you're here, I'm guessing. You appeared in the IDMR, where Horror picked you up and guided you over where you met the rest of the Heathens so we call them. You say, Swapfell Sans, Underfell Sans, Dust Sans, Murder Sans, probably not Terror and Error. Lemme not go into the specifics though. You were knocked out during your first teleportation which is normal. Chained to the basement wall of the Underfell home, where the Star Sanses came in for the rescue. Then they took you here where you'll be staying I assume...but yeah, you get it, right?"

By the time he had finished your heart sank. Nodding your head slowly, you thought about how to get back. Do you need your phone to go back? Do you have it? Is it broken? Worry and fear built up your anxiety as the conversation came to a close.

"They say you're the reader..." His voice is steady and calm with a deep British twang.

You sit in silence as you stare at the wall.

"Is it true?"

Silence.

"Are you who they say you are?"

"Did you really leave us in here to suffer?"

"If you could teleport before why didn't you come to save us?"

You finally bring yourself to stand on shaky legs and take one more look at Nightmare before you run up to your guest room. Slamming the door shut, you run to your bed and hide your head under the covers.

_If you wanted to go home you could've just said so~_

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
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[System Error Log]

-Reset Configuring

[Processing Request]

. . .

 

. . .

 

. . .

 

[Access Denied]

 

**Welcome Home**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the cliff hanger. lol I know this chapter was a little short even for my liking. And it took way too long to come up with. That's why I've decided to not do this format of writing ever again. XD Unless you think or say otherwise I'm never doing first person present tense ever again. The next chapter though.....mwah ha ha ha ha. We'll see what goes down from there.


	36. Truth or Dare to The X-treme + Break it or Make It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well look at that a Cross chapter. ;-; Might as well slip in individual chapters for different characters. Then again I never said what Cross. Heuh heuh. Also if you see Dc, that means Daycare. That is to not confuse any of the older characters with the daycare ones. Yeah. You read that right. Ct-mother flipping burger eatin children watchin-Paper Jam is finally making an appearance. That whole middle name thing is a joke btw. XD

Things were finally back to normal. People were laughing and singing. Not a single Genocide in over three months. Ink had put down as a Galegon record as he counted the end of each day on his calendar. It brought joy to people to see zero violence. The good, bad, depressed, gleeful, swaps, fells, classics, everyone.

"Not me." Fell Cross had been acting up for the past week, being as the only one who wouldn't cheer up unless he laughed at his own scary joke. Nobody but him and other versions of Cross knew of his misbehaviour, though, so they were safe from unwanted attention if someone were to claim the record's gone broke.

"You have to do it, it's a dare." Cross Swap looked at the resistant skele as he continued to complain and turn down the promise he swore to keep.

"You're the one who wanted us to play the game." Cross smirked a bit, leaning on his femurs by his elbows. His cold hands gently caressed his own face in wait.

"No way ever am I going to do that." Fross turned away as a tinge of reddish purple blush dusted his cheeks. He really didn't want to commit to the dare.

"Oh come on now," Xcellence leaned over to the alternate him and smiled. His Spanish accent hitting his target full blood romantically. "It's not so bad~"

"SERIOUSLY WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO KISS YOU?!" Fross threw his long sleeves in the air and closed his eyes tight.

"You've gotta do it though," Crop didn't even look at anyone as he licked at a candy cane. "That's how the game works." His eyes weren't even looking at anyone. He was just staring at the white and red sweet in his hand. As if using telepathy to flirt with it.

"Just get it over with so you can dare me." Cross finally stopped smirking and let out a bored grunt. Fross crossed his arms again and looked Xcellence in the eyes annoyingly.

"Oh fine! Get it over with! But I'm kissing you, you're kissing me-"

"That's not what the dare was~" Xcellence wraggled his eyes brows at the skele before himself in an attempt to further seduce the dared one. Fross hissed behind his turtle neck before coming out of his shell dipped in reddish purple blush. He didn't even say a word as he quickly shoved his face forward and into Xcellence's. Sure their teeth met, but only for a split second before backing away. "I don't think that was good enough~"

"Get a room!" Gaster Cross, who had just come back from getting some dark roast coffee, walked into the room and sat on the couch next to Cross across from the other couch where the two intertwined in the dare sat. Crop sat off to the side in a kitchen chair as he sucked on the Christmas candy. Gross smirked and leaned back, crossing his legs as he did so. Sipping at his coffee, he waited for someone to make a move to do something. Xcellence brought Fross to himself by the waist and took him into a deep passionate kiss.

"Oh snap!" Crop sprung up from his seat and pulled out his phone, which was quickly taken away by Gross in an attempt to prevent Xcellence and Fross from becoming famous love birds. Fross leaned in closer to Xcellence as he laid a hand on the other's shoulder. Everyone else stared at the two as they stayed that way for a while. Nobody expected that. At all. Finally, they pulled apart but just barely.

"WOOOO!" Crop laughed and cheered as they realized what had just happened. Xcellence was shoved away as Fross moved to the other side of the couch to get away from the psycho romancer. He curled into a ball and turned away in anger while his partner sat and acted as his usual self.

"Okay, since he's out for being a baby, Xcellence...your turn to dare someone." Cross tried not to laugh as he posted a video to his YouTube channel in secret.

"Alright then," The high up Spaniard sat up a bit and looked around at each Cross. "Gross...truth or dare~?" He smirked devilishly as his gaze lowered to the other skele. Gross cleared his throat and took a sip from his coffee.

"Dare." Not a drop of regret or worry laced his skull as he spoke, and finished speaking. Xcellence's smirk turned into a smile as he looked down at the floor, and back up.

"I dare you to bring Ink Sans here~ And snuggle him right in front of us~" The other Cross's laughed as they watched Gross's face grow cold with fear.

"Uh-wait a second here-"

"Nope. You're doing it!" Crop leapt over to sit between Fross and Xcellence. They all smiled, even Fross, but not Gross who had a hefty dare on his shoulders.

"Fine. I'll do it." He rose to his feet and teleported Ink into the room.

"Wha-" Before the skele could say a word he was wrapped in a tight embrace that might as well be labelled as purely gay. But hey. Ink was pretty gay for ERROR so everything was fine. Gross leaned back to sit on the couch, Ink falling between his legs and resting there. They both blushed with the lower one blushing even more insanely than anyone in the whole Galegon had.

"You never stated how long." Gross looked at Xcellence plainly as he waited for a time to be given.

"An hour~" The skele replied quietly, but not quietly enough because Ink had heard it and he was just about ready to thrash himself away from the tall criminal. The all sat in silence for a while until a voice echoed through the room. Small, and fragile, a PJ's Daycare Cross made his way to the head of the room.

"Excuse me?" He looked up at the other hims. A teddy bear held close to his chest as his eyes sparkled largely with innocence. The adults in the room turned their heads to the smol as they all began to worry. Gross held Ink tighter to keep him from interacting.

"Hey kid," Cross stood up first and rushed over to the younger him. "Hey, I'm gonna take you home, okay?" He kneeled down and placed his hands on the small shoulders before him. Looking the kid in his blue and red eyes, he wore the expression of concern and fatherly protection. Kid Cross blinked up at the much taller skeleton and nodded.

"Pht, Cross, man, might as well keep him since you treat and look at him like that." Gross smirked over to the two as suspicion crawled its way into his thoughts. Cross simply responded by ignoring the outburst and smiled at the kid he protected and loved. All he could do was pick the young one up into his arms and hold him as though he were his own child.

"Cross," Crop smiled as he took a small bite out of the sugary cane in his cold phalanges. "I dare you to give that kid 'the talk'." His smile grew wide with sin-if only he knew what the talk was-as he crunched on the sweet.

"Are you kidding me?" Fross turned his attention back to the group and scowled. "He's way too young for that. I call foul."

"You're out of the game, remember?" Gross spoke roughly as the argument settled down and the heat pooled near the edgiest skele in the room.

"I side with Fross!" Ink wriggled about in Gross's clutches as he waned toward escaping. The air suddenly grew heavy with magic as Cross stood with the child in his arms.

"I quit." He walked out of the room and teleported to the Daycare AU where CtPJ stood waiting for him.

"There you are," The man leaned forward and lightly took the smol from Cross's arms. The shorter skele tugged back a bit at first but gave in to give the child up. "Thank you, Cross." He turned his attention to the saviour, then to the kid in his arms. Whispering filled the air, but it could not be understood by the newcomer.

"Um, you're welcome-"

"Would you like to come in for a moment?" CtPJpushed opened the daycare's front doors and set Dc Cross down inside where he ran off. Most likely to find the other kids. Or, get away from the creepy older him.

"Erm," Cross blushed a bit and kicked his feet. "I dunno...I've got kids of my own to watch and-"

"I'll tell the other versions of you that you said that," CtPJ smirked and stepped inside. "Come on." He walked down the hall in a relaxed space. Cross followed, nervous that something crazy weird would happen if he didn't listen to the young man. Walking swiftly as to catch up, he glanced back for a moment in worry someone was watching him. His suspicions were proven correct as a small Dc Fresh ran to catch up with the two.

"Hey Mr. Cross Looking Old Man," He looked up at Cross as their paces slowed. "You can be here as long as you stay away from my PJ." He lowered his glasses in a threat as a parasite could be seen in his left eye. The older skele gulped down fear as he nodded respectfully. "Thanks, Mr. CLOM." Then the smol skipped off to catch up with his Senpai. The X coated skeleton hurried to catch up as well as worry clouded his mind. He began to hope that he wouldn't have to stay the night at all in worry that the tiny Fresh that seemed harmless at first would try to corrupt his mind or murder him.

\----------------------------------------------

"You can let him go now." Xcellence gestured to Ink who was still sitting-laying-in Gross's lap. His gaze was fixed on someone else, though.

"Sup?" Cross had returned after three hours of being lectured by CtPJ about why kids are important to help and take good care of. Then he was forced to watch the hyper and very energetic children of the AU. Which obviously ended great. He looked over to Ink and sighed. "I'll take him. I've had enough of this boring game anyway." He pushed himself off of the wall and made his way over to the couch in which Ink and Gross were sitting. Ripping the colourful skele away from the other's grasp, he walked away and out the front door after giving a muffled goodbye.

"Ah, thank you," Ink smiled a little and brushed himself off as he was set down gently to touch the soft soil. "Oh and nothing much. Dream's been hacking Nightmare's programming for nightmares, ERROR proposed to me..." Cross's eyes went wide with surprise as he looked over at Ink's left hand. Low and behold, a silver ring etched with black swirls stood out against his white phalanges.

"Ink...wow, that's just...that's...great! That's really awesome that you two got together finally." He tried to smile in spite of himself but was soon to fail as his eyes began to tear up. Ink went forth and hugged Cross worriedly.

"Hey it's okay. What's wrong? Are you mad?"

"Mad?" Cross finally smiled for real and backed up a bit, falling free of the hug he had been encased in. "Why would I be mad? I am so happy for you Ink. You're gonna be so happy together. In fact, you already are. I'm just..." Cross sighed, not wanting to admit that he was emotional over the situation. Wiping the violet tears away, he turned around looked up at the sky where he was gladly met by a blinding ray of sunshine. The leftover tears trickled down his cheekbones as they sparkled in the light. He squeezed his eyes shut as to not loose his sight. The soft tussling of light green grass could be heard as Ink walked up from behind the spaced out skele. A warm hand rested on his shoulder calmly.

"You're thinking about Dream, aren't you?" Ink smirked and wanted to laugh as he spoke next to the now flustered and embarrassed skeleton.

"No I'm not!" Cross pushed the rainbow skele away a bit as he grunted and looked off to the side. "I've gotta go."

"What, gotta date with Dream?" Ink snickered as he continued to pester the skele to his breaking point.

"Ink look,"He spoke quickly and roughly as he walked back over to the skele his arms no longer folded across his chest as they held Ink stiffly in place by his shoulders. "I **can't** be with Dream. He's in love with I'm sure someone else." He sighed sadly, his arms falling from the other skele's shoulders as he held himself together.

"Come on Cross," Ink wrapped an arm around the lonely skele for a moment before jerking away. "What was that?" He looked around frantically. Cross let go of himself and looked around with Ink.

"Who's out there?" His voice echoed through the forest to their right and bounced off the water to their left. There had been a snapping noise that had come from somewhere nearby, but neither could tell where exactly. A skeleton they both knew very well of to be mysterious and questioning, walked forth and cleared his throat. "WHERE YOU STALKING ME?" Cross yelled at Tanz, his fists in tight balls beside his femurs.

"No, just following." The skinny skeleton spoke softly as he made his way over to the other two, a dull expression on his face and his hands stuffed away in his hoodie's pockets.

"I'll, leave you two..." Ink started backing up, a little nervous that he was interrupting something personal. After receiving a nod from Tanz, he ran off somewhere into the woods, most likely to hop through another one of his mysterious paint portals. Cross crossed his arms as an uncomfortable feeling crept up his spine.

"Cross, I get it if you still hate me...I'm sorry I didn't tell you before...but I can't feel emotions that much-"

"Then how can you love me?!" Cross gripped his arms tightly as tears formed in his eye sockets. Tanz's eyes softened at the sight of his beloved being so down. Though he couldn't feel a lot of emotions, he could feel something that no one could ever live without. And that was happiness. But for him, it was an overwhelming sense of joy to be spending time with his lover, Cross.

"Cross...I really need you to listen to me," He quickly moved forward and grabbed hold of Cross's arms. "Look, I can't feel sadness or hatred. Not even anger. I can't be negative. And I'm not allowed to feel love or affection. But the intense happiness I feel from being around you or thinking about you...I guess for me that's love. No one else makes me feel the way you do. I love you. And I always will. Maybe in my own way, but any way counts, right? I mean, don't you...still love...me?" At that point, he would've been crying. Would've been shaking with sadness. But instead, he was still. Still and quiet in wait for a response that may never come.

"Tanz," Cross unwound his arms and wrapped them around his spouse with a passion that hadn't been acknowledged in a very long time. "I'm sorry...I love you, too."

The two skeletons stood there, hugging for a while before turning towards the house's door to find the other Cross's standing there with their phones pointed straight at them. Cross held onto Tanz tighter, as to show strength and care, and kissed his lover's cheek.

"Okay then," Gross backed up and turned off his phone, which meant the others did the same. He was the elected leader based on maturity. But that didn't mean that Fross was going to stop anytime soon. "Get over here." The Gaster version of Cross tore the Fell him away from the door and into the house, where he was most likely going to be grounded.

"Anyway..." Tanz smiled shyly and slipped out of Cross's tight grip, then he looked up at the sky to check the time. "It's getting to be a little late, and I wouldn't wanna miss lunch back with my family. Heh." His eyes fell down to rest upon Cross's in a manner that could only mean joy.

"Alright..." Cross returned the smile and looked around. "Erm...you didn't come here alone...did you?"

"No, why?"

"Is that your brother over there?"

"Yeah...is that your brother with him?"

"Yeah..."

"..."

"..."

The two awkwardly took a step away from each other as their siblings made their way over to them.

"We saw that." X-Tale Papyrus spoke clearly. His voice slicing through the warm air effortlessly to reach Cross.

"Not that it's a bad thing, but...I mean...I guess it kind of is a bad thing." Zapyruz looked down at the two Sanses with a calculated expression on his skull.

"Look, if you have something to say just say it." Tanz looked into the taller skeletons eyes, hoping they'd feel uncomfortable under the pressure of him standing up to them and looking them in the eyes.

"Oh we haven't got anything to say," X-Tale Papyrus walked up to Cross and took him by the arm. "But our's and your parents, do." He glanced down at his brother worriedly for a moment. They both knew how their father could be at times. And it was mainly bad behaviour they yanked out from him. Zapyruz gulped down his fear and went over to his younger brother.

"I'm sure it isn't bad. You're too valuable to him for him to ever lay a hand on you." Though his expression was reassuring, his voice was hollow as it wavered with the tone of worry and fear.

"I-I don't wanna go Zap," Tanz muttered up to his sibling. "He's...please don't make me go." If it weren't for the block of emotions, he would've been crying out with tears streaming down from his eyes and down his cheekbones in a furious manner. Fear would've been painted in his left eye, and worry would've taken hold on his body by making him tremble. Gazing up, he felt like screaming. But he couldn't. He was forever in his father's hands and watch. Forever being monitored like a lab rat instead of a son. He should've died. Stayed dead, even. He died once. And he wanted to do it again. At least his thoughts of death couldn't be blocked. But he'd never brought them up in fear that his father would hear. Gazter had already pushed the boundaries of science when he brought Tanz back to life after the GDW, Greatly Depressing War. It separated so many people. Monsters close to humans went down with them. But ever since two were left in his AU, he'd turned into a protector. A defender. A leader for the human's return. But ever since the mysterious 'erase' event, he could never screw his head on straight.

"I'm sorry." Zapyruz whispered down, barely audible over the sudden cries from Cross. Tanz whipped his head to the side and opened his mouth as he reached a hand out. In need, not want. But he was too late...

_If you haven't picked up on the rising fear, look deep into yourself, friend~_


	37. Welcome to the Father Side + The Little Experiment + Save Them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm super sorry about taking so long to update now a days! I'll try at least one update a month since I have school and life, it's just that I've been busy, so I'll try to update more often for you guys! Love ya'll! Thank ya!
> 
> ALSO...WARNING if you have any depressing or suicidal thoughts please be warned when reading this. I don't want to make things worse. Also there's a lot of swearing ahead.

"NOOOOO!" A scream ripped through the air of Gazter's lab as Zapyruz dragged his brother inside of the examination room. Tanz had been there too many times. Too many scars did he possess on his body. Too many painful memories to take account of. He **hated** his father with a cold determination. But he only felt the rush of sadness and dark emotions when he was in that room. The generator keeping him running was nearby, causing a flood of emotions to phase through him. Hot tears sat in his eye sockets and flew out as he shook violently in his brother's grasp. "LET ME GO!" He screamed again, and again. Calling his father a monster and a destroyer. But Zaypyruz had to do what he had to do. Anything that would let him have his emotions and magic. Anything to get MERCY from his dad. His cruel and cold-blooded dad. With a heart of stone and gaze of calculation, he would take anything and anyone down. Get rid of any obstacle preventing him from getting what he wanted to be done and out of the way of his other meaningful actions.

"Bring him here," Gazter spoke smoothly and calmly as he stood to the side of a metal chair. Leather straps enforced with carbon fiber hung from the armrests, the legs, and the head of the seat in order to ensure that anyone who is locked in is locked in for good. His gaze was fixed on his sons as they fought for what they believed in. Finally, Zapyruz was able to drag his never tiring brother over to the chair and quickly seal the straps around his arms, legs, and neck, with a quick gesture of magic. "Thank you." Gazter spoke up again as he walked close to the youngest son he had. The only one who would smile in the face of danger as his brother would rather frown. The energetic and more creative son. That's why he put almost all of his magic into Tanz. To make him stronger. To test his abilities. But he never used them. He was too kind. So it was time for a shift.

"Anything else I can do for you?" Zapyruz replaced where his father stood with his own tall lanky body. Though he sounded fine and dandy, he wanted to sob. To reach out and kill. But it wasn't Gazter he wanted his phalanges on. He wasn't the spoiled and perfect one. The special one with all of the magic anyone could ask for. While he had to train to earn his levels and health, Tanz was given it all for barely a thing in return. But now he was going to suffer. Suffer for not using his powers in the way _father_ had wanted.

"No, nothing else, thank you," Gazter looked back for a moment, a syringe filled with it's maximum with a bright yellow-green liquid that bubbled every few seconds. "You may go if you please, or stay to watch the fun. But I do warn you. I've never tested this serum before, so the results may be catastrophic." His eyes were bright with a newfound love for hurt. A feeling of enjoying others suffer. But a feeling of hate lingered within him too. He hated himself. He thought he wasn't hard enough of his sons. He'd beat them, almost killed them. Yelled at them, mistreated them. And **still** he felt as though he wasn't torturing them enough. He was about to reset his son, and that wasn't bad enough. He took away Tanz's soul and most of his emotions. And he thought he wasn't hard enough on his sons.

"I'll go then," Zapyruz headed to the heavy metal door of the room. "And don't you **ever** fucking to talk to me **ever** again." Quickly, he threw the door open and ran out, slamming it shut behind him. Tanz looked over at his father in fear and worry. Not only for himself, but also for his brother.

"Let's get this over with."

\-----------------------------

_I remember a time when my dad wasn't so bad. He was a kind and loving father who would do anything for me, my brother, and my mother. My big brother was always there for me, too. He taught me how to fish, how to sing, and told me stories every night before bed. His smile always made me giggle. And when he frowned, I cried in his lap, wishing for him to smile again. I would always want to be with him. And when he wasn't around and with my father, I ran off with my mother. She was a beautiful young skeleton. Her eyes softly set into her skull. Her bright violet irises glowing on even the brightest of days. She was sweet and understood everyone without even hearing what they had to say. She loves me. She cares for me. I-I sometimes would wonder whether or not she would come back as I grow up. She never will, though. She's dead. Her and my father worked together and chemists. My mother gathered and grew chemicals. My father helped her mix them into brilliant things that could cure anything or give people amazing powers. They were going to save the Surface of disease. But then the shit hit the fan and all Hell broke loose. Leaving my dad to be an abusive father with two half living sons. What could be worse?_

\-----------------------------

"Hey, d-dad," Cross mumbled up to Underverse Gaster as his head spun with a dizzy drunk feeling. He, like Tanz, once loved his dad. But it was after his Universe was erased that he could no longer put up with him. "You wanted to talk?" His eyes remained on the ground where they were no longer full and bright as they usually were.

"Yes, I do," The creep of a Gaster walked over casually and hung his head as he spoke. "I don't support your relationship." He looked up to meet the eyes of a broken soul. A crippled and absolutely depressed soul that was in desperate need of love. But the only love he got was from his family-minus his dad-and his spouse.

"D-dad, I don't c-"

"I want to be at your wedding." He spoke quickly to throw Cross off, in which he did.

"You just sai-"

"I know what I said. I'm not supportive of your relationship. What I meant is that I'm not supportive enough. I want to be there for you like I was in the past when you were a kid. I want to love you and hold you like I used to when you were smaller. I-I-"

"Dad," Cross held up a hand as tears flooded both father and son's eyes. "I get it, okay? I love you too." For the first time in a long time, the two reached out and hugged. Underverse Gaster smiled warmly as he held his son in his arms, and slowly the warmth spread. It travelled across his bones rapidly and dug into his soul. A bright light illuminated for just a moment before he fell to his knees as he hugged his son ever closer. But he wasn't Underverse Gaster, he was X-Tale Gaster.

"I missed you-I-I'm sorry." Violet tears were pouring from Cross's eyes as he looked up at his father in sorrow.

"It's okay, Cross," He murmured so only the two of them could hear. Leaning down and caressing the smol face before him, he smiled brightly as though he hadn't seen his son since birth. "I missed you too, and I'm sorrier than you could ever be. Just promise me you'll be happy. My little angel."

"Of course dad."

\----------------------------------

Lights in the cold room flickered on and off as the amount of magic grew. Stronger and stronger did the one within the chair grow. And weaker and weaker did the one near the door become.

"Perfect," Gazter smirked insanely as his pupils shrunk to the size of pumpkin seeds. No longer were his intentions for the greater good of his son's life, but instead, they were for the evil's of Dretalia. So the demons in the world had been called. So the humans had been dubbed after the break out of sickness. The lights dimmed for but a moment before sparking back to life and lighting up the room, along with the sinister monster that sat in the chair. Walking over cautiously, but still, with determination, he glanced down at his experiment. "Tanz?" His voice was sturdy as he spoke. Waiting for his son to respond to the noise or the words that he'd spoken.

"G...az...ter..." Looking up with his skull to aim his right, purple pupil at his father, he grinned maliciously.

"That's my boy~" Gazter said with a smirk. Leaning down and untying the straps, he looked up at his new son. The grey-blue pupil that had once taken hold in his left eye had vanished, and so had the usual uneasiness that he'd felt in the room every time before then. "Now," The evil scientist stood and backed up, allowing the new Tanz to move about on his own. "How about we go over the ground rules?"

"That would be nice, but you know that these rules better not be too harsh. Limit it to uh, how about, one deep cut per soul, yeah?" Smiling ever more, he easily rose to his feet with a graceful and impacting step.

"Funny," Gazter lowered his gaze to look the boy over. Just the same. Perfect. The only change was his eye, which will have an easy story to tell of course. "If anybody asks what happened to you, say that you got hit by a car on your way to work, okay?"

"Do I really look that bad?" Tanz spoke with a sarcastic, villain voice as he looked himself over.

"No, no. That's not why. You can see out of your right eye, not your left. The other Tanz was the opposite. You're replacing him since he was too weak to muster any courage to cause harm. I got sick of him, so now you're here."

"Well thank you very much." Tanz bowed and stood back up.

"Anyway..." Gazter looked off to the side for a moment as to clear his thoughts. This new Tanz was going to be a handful. "Look, you're evil, but you weren't always. So you need to be nice to people. I know that will be hard to do but-"

"I can do it." Tanz flashed Gazter a shark toothed grin.

"Uhm, we're going to need to hide those pearly whites of your's." Waving a hand in the air, a small puff of colourless magic floated forth to cover up the sight of Tanz's teeth with a normal pair that the other him would've had.

"Awe, you really do hate my looks."

"Shut up," Gazter sighed heavily. Maybe his other son was better. Or maybe it was just a bad start. "You need to be nice to people, okay? You won't remember many of their names, that's okay. You were hit by a car. Act emotional, okay? No sarcasm. No hate. No anger. Be all positive. If something sad happens, force yourself to cry because if we get found out, we're screwed. Only kill if there's a group of four or less in the area with you. Make sure no one finds out if you do anything. Kill everyone, or wipe their memory. If you slightly hurt someone, make sure you threaten them enough that they don't tell anyone-wait...don't risk it. Look, make sure no one gets away and that-"

"Hey hey hey now...it's great, you telling me all this, but um...A) What do I get in return? and B) Why am I gonna be doing all of this?" Tanz crossed his arms in thought as he eyed his father with a newfound curiosity. _Who's Tanz?_

"First of all, you name it I'll get it, but that's only after a year of killing over fifty-nine people. Second..." Gazter took a moment to laugh. " **Because this Galegon deserves to rot.** "

\----------------------------

"So, you talked with Tanz about it?" X-Tale Gaster smiled at Gazter as he held a mug of coffee. The Gaster meetings were usually full of bickering, which it was. But a lot of conversations were left to small groups, which was new.

"Yes, I did." The taller skeleton responded back.

"What did you say?"

"Not much. Just asked how and when they met. Simple questions really."

"Ah," XTG Smiled down into the brown liquid that was stirring quietly as he collected his thoughts on what to say. "I think they're cute together, honestly. It's a shame that I trained him for nothing, but at least he'll be happy." His smile grew as he looked up and around at the other Gasters in the room.

"Sure." Gazter sounded quite irritated at the thought of his son being in love. It was disgusting. Or maybe he just didn't want his son to go through what he had to go through...maybe he didn't want Tanz to lose who he loves most. But he was changed. He won't _ever_ love again.

"What's wrong? Did something happen between you two? Or do you not like Cross. Have you even met?" Question after question until there was complete silence for several seconds.

"Nothing's wrong. Tanz is just...well-"

"A perfect kid?" Underswap Gaster poked his head between the other two hims and smiled.

"I'd say." XTG agreed. The three stood in silence, yet again.

"I guess he is. So to you, he is at least." Gazter looked off to his right to aVOID eye contact with anyone within the small group he was talking in.

"Oh yeah? Name one thing that he's done wrongfully." XTG was now a little irritated. The other him made Tanz seem like a bad kid, but he was actually a really nice one that helped with a lot of things. There was no reason why he should've been labelled as the opposite of him and USG's thoughts.

"He uh...well...for starters he ran away as a kid to try and leave forever."

"Now that's just bad parenting." Underswap Gaster replied blankly as he stood as still as stone.

"I'm not a bad parent, I'm great with my kids! I support them with everything I have!" Gazter clenched his fists as he glared at the other hims with pure evil.

"Sure." XTG waved the conversation away as he gestured for USG to follow him away. Maybe they'd go talk with Gaster Sans or something.

"Idiots..." Gazter mumbled, his skull hot from frustration. Crossing his arms in disgust, he found himself looking at a rather strange person at the back of the room. He stood alone and armless from what it looked like. Cooling down, he headed over to greet the newcomer. "Hel-"

"H-H-Hel-l-llo yours-s-s-self-f." The skeleton spat. His voice had a glitched edge to it that he had only heard from ERROR. The kind of glitching that sort of spikes up a fear meter. But he stayed calm as he stood his ground.

"You shouldn't be so rude." Gazter leaned against the wall in a relaxed manner. Of course his niceness was all a costume. Fake. He never would've talked to the other Gaster, or even shown up. But he wanted to get to know the others again. After the first meeting and him being so mysterious in the corner, he'd taken a small interest in what the Gasters did. But it was very minor.

"Same-ame to you-ou," ERROR Gaster looked to his left to get a good look at the stranger. "You lo-ook-ok li-like a gi-ir-ir-irl."

"I get that a lot," He spoke plainly in response. "You're from ERRORTale?"

"N-n-no, just-st another-er Multiverse-erse-verse. It's fu-un-n I gue-uess-ss. The nam-ame's ERROR-R-R Gas-as-t-t-ter." Turning to face Gazter, he smirked.

"I'm Gazter." Stretching out a hand, he began to question if the other him had any.

"HAHAHA-H-HAA-A! Y-Y-You r-r-really-eally d-d-on't-t know-ow?" ERROR Gaster laughed a little as he spoke. The glitching getting to be a bit worse. "I c-can't-an't have-ve-ave my-y ha-ha-ands-ds here-ere-re."

"Why not?" The question came out of his mouth quickly, making him sound dumb.

"I-I des-estro-roy thi-ings-s. Th-th-that's-t's w-w-why-y." His smile stopped and his glitching calmed as he turned away and looked around.

"You do, huh? I don't see why you shouldn't. This place is annoying and so are all of the Gasters here." Gazter crossed his arms roughly across his chest and glared around the room.

"A-Ah. So you-ou're-re like-ike me." GE smiled a bit as he formed a plan in his head.

"I would assume so. People are just too happy, and I don't understand why."

"Me nei-either-ther."

The two stood in silence until the lights dimmed a bit.

"I know what you did to your son." The glitching Gaster suddenly stopped his glitching as he peered straight into Gazter's soul.

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"I like your experiment. Not your son, just the ideas you've put together to execute your project. He deserves your torture. And how about other's?"

"Are you asking to take part in this?" Gazter uncrossed his arms and looked over at the lean skele.

"Maybe so."

\--------------------------------------

"Hey Tanz!" Cross sprinted over to his lover and hugged him tightly. He'd been calling his spouse for over an hour with no response, but after so much time he'd finally picked up and agreed to make a show over in X-Tale.

"Uh, hi." Tanz stood as still as a stone as he thought about why his father put him through so much torture.

"Are you okay?" The smol skeleton backed up and took the sight in. "Wait, why are you using magic? Are you trying to hide something? What's going on?"

"Uh...shit..." Tanz sighed as he took down his father's magic shield, revealing his true looks as a genocide version of the lover Cross once knew.

"Who the fuck are you?! Wait, are you still Tanz?!" Cross brought out his knife and held it defensively before him.

"Yeah, I'm technically still your 'husband', but uhm...I'm also not."

"What happened to you?" Cross kept his position in case of an attack as he waited for a response. The new Tanz smirked.

"My father's an asshole if you didn't know. I'm his experiment. Basically, I'm the Pacifist Tanz you knew, but instead the Genocide version. We're all kinda jumbled into one body, the three of us. Heh."

"Who's the third?"

"Well normal Tanz of course! He's the lame neutral. Of course, the other two me's are asleep, and they'll never know of my existence. I control both of them-or monitor I should rather say. They have their own dorky thoughts. Before Tanz died, he was neutral. Of course, my father wanted to see me and Pasy awake on our own. But only one of us can be awake at a time. That's why he's testing me out after he just had four years with Pasy."

"What the _Hell_." Cross dissipated his knife as tears filled his eyes. He was so confused and overwhelmed with emotions that it was almost unbearable. He just wanted Tanz back. The real Tanz that he'd got to know and love. But now there were three of him. And he didn't know how any of the change happened.

"Yeah, sorry buddy," Gen Tanz yanked a knife from his back pocket and smirked. "Even if I feel for you, I made a deal with my pops." Throwing the knife expertly, it spun through the air quickly and almost hit Cross.

"I can help! My dad can find a way to separate you and free you-"

"What's going on?!" X-Gaster stormed over to his son and the newcomer.

"Dad wait! It's Tanz, but-"

"Oh," XG sighed sadly and walked over a bit gloomy. "I'm sorry about yelling, then. Ahem, I hear you need some help." He examined Gen Tanz curiously as he thought about what was really going on.

"No problemo mistero." He smiled and stood straight as he waited for someone to do something.

"Anyway...if you come with me your promise not to tell your father, call for help, scream curse words-"

"Buddy, I'm really sorry but I kinda do that on instinct."

"Fine but not too many. You also will be agreeing to partake in another experiment by doing so."

"Enough with the experiments," Tanz rolled his eyes. "I'm sick of being trapped sure. But I don't want anything being done to me unless you're for sure about it."

"You're the only person I've met so far with zero souls and three personalities. If you want to be separated then you'll come with me no and's or but's about it." With that, XG walked away calmly with the two teens hot on his trail.

"Are you scared?" Cross asked dumbly.

"Not at all. My father's done enough to make sure that no pain bothers me again. A lot of testing leads to this kind of feeling." Gen Tanz stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked forward.

"I thought my dad was bad..."

"Cross, we've talked about this. It's in the past and that was long ago. You know we made a deal not to bring it up and it won't happen again. That's strike two."

"Awe come on now! Dads are bad people," Tanz blurted out, causing all of them to stop. "What?"

"I was good, then bad, then I decided to be good. There are other fathers out there who are sweet and kind just like their children, and some that will do anything for science if it means throwing their kid's lives on the line. Your dad seems pathetic honestly. He sacrificed so much for you and left your brother in the dust. Then he decided that he didn't want to-we're wasting time..." XG cut himself off as he lead the two through the house and to the basement.

"You're not bad...dad...I never said you were. And if I did I didn't mean it." Cross mumbled quietly as he walked faster to keep up with his father. Gen Tanz cringed a bit, but suddenly he felt an overwhelming sense of calm. And sadness. He wanted his father to hold him close and love him like the son he was. But his father rarely paid any attention to him. Maybe all he needed was someone to love him the way he'd once loved Medi-

"Can you hop up on this table and lay there while I get things set up?" XG walked over to a large machine that was situated a few feet before the table he'd once stood by.

"Sure thing." GT cleared his throat and headed over to the table where he hopped up and laid down.

"Don't move," Cross stood at the side and strapped down limbs and body parts. "If you feel uncomfortable we can take you down." He looked into his spouse's-no no. That was not Tanz. But it was...and Cross loved Tanz no matter the personality. It was just a hard thing to go through.

"Uhm...I think I'll be okay?" GT began to sweat as memories of being on a table in his father's lab came into view.

"Okay," Cross smiled and leaned down close to the skull that lay nervously. "I love you." He whispered and kissed GT's cheek, then ran off to stand by his dad.

"Ready?" XG looked over to check on the skele tied down and then to his son.

"Ready."


	38. Lovey Dovey Everybody

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! There is a kissing scene down below with a little bit o grind in so if you wanna skip that part I have a warning before it as well. It's only a short paragraph and it's not very descriptive so don't worry.
> 
> Now that that's aside, hello! And yes I'm updating more often! Yay! Hope you guys like this fic, and if so go on and comment your favorite scene on any chapter. I'll be sure to give answers to any mysteries on this work so feel free to ask and speak away!

Tearztale had been in distress for three weeks as one of their most important leaders had turned up missing. The young skeleton that had disappeared, though, he hadn't exactly according to people of X-Tale...

"Now you're awake," Cross chuckled as he walked into a bedroom lime space. Three cots were set head to the wall as three skeletons laid or sat in them. "Or at least...two of you." He stood before them all with a bit of joy but mainly strictness.

"What the..." Gen Tanz was sitting up rubbing his head as he looked over at the other versions of himself. "Wait...that stupid experiment worked?"

"Looks like it."

"I never thought I'd say it, but thank the stars I'm free from those losers."

"I'm awake you know!" Pac Tanz sat up slowly and glared at his opposite.

"Okay, okay guys. Look, I've gotta get you guys back to your AUs where you belong." Cross walked over and helped his spouse out of bed.

"But, uhm...we all come from the same AU. Same Timeline, same everything." Gen Tanz got up easily on his own as he walked over to the couple.

"Turns out that the moment we separated the three of you, is the moment when an AU for each of you was made. The Tanz over here that hasn't woken up gets to go back to the original AU. You two will go to the Genocide and Pacifist AUs."

"Is my dad gonna be worse?"

"Awe this is great!"

"Yeah, now. Let's get you two back home." Cross smiled as he lead the two upstairs and into the living room.

"Can I please stay? If not can you come with?" PT begged his lover with a tug on his arm as he thought about showing up at a new home with a different family on his own.

"I'll see. If I go C will have to watch the other you-"

"HELL NO CROSS. WATCH YOUR OWN GAY GUYS." C walked into the room from the kitchen. His tiny hands in tight fists as he glared knives at his brother.

"Who's this cute little lady?" GT smirked as he crossed his arms and looked upon the smol human.

"EXCUSE YOU BUT I'M A MAN AND MORE OF A MAN THAN A PANSY LIKE YOU COULD EVER BE." C turned around and ran outside where he slammed the door closed.

"Uh...okay then..."

"Anyway...I guess I should go with you. I mean, what's he gonna do while no one's here? He's a neutralist-"

"So are you and look at what you've done." GT continued to be a jerk as he walked over to the couch and plopped down. Suddenly, he fell through the couch.

"Dad, seriously?" Cross turned around, where he father stood before the basement door.

"Sorry, he was getting on my nerves," He walked over casually and smiled at the two. "Hello, Tanz. Glad you're awake. Now I do have a question for both of you...when are you getting married?"

"DAD. Not now!" Cross blushed madly as he hugged PT close.

"How about in two weeks?" The slightly taller skele looked at Cross and then to XG.

"Sounds good. I'll go with you two so we can see your father. Just to make sure things spawned right."

"What about the other Tanz?" Cross held Tanz's hand as they both blushed madly.

"He has a day to wake up. If he wakes up sooner, I'll be notified, so don't worry." The Gaster walked over to the wall next to the staircase and formed a portal to the new AU.

"How will you be notified?" Cross questioned his dad as him and his spouse walked over.

"SP."

"Oh."

"Now let's go."

The three of them walked through the portal and out onto the other side where the grass was a bright green as it flowed in the wind, and the trees swayed with flowers and leaves that were vivid against the bright blue sky.

"Woah..." Tanz looked up with bright eyes as Cross could only stare in amazement and wonder. Fluffy white clouds floated high in the sky, the two suns beams soaring through the cracks as each cloud past. It was warm with a cool breeze that only made Cross want to take his clothes off so he could be free from the heat he had on his bones.

"This way." XG continued forth as he closed the portal. They walked along a dirt path in the woods. Rocks crunched under their footsteps as they made their way downtown. People looked at them with a little bit of fear, but the smile and waves given sent another message. It might've just been from seeing two Sanses and another Gaster in the AU. But none of them knew of AUs, and none of them were concerned about their safety.

"Heya pardners!" A lime green rabbit with a straw hat waved them over. His watermelon pink ears sprung up from two holes on the top. Bright blue eyes shone at them with a sparkling innocence. "Ya'll lookin' fer the Doc?" He smiled a straight toothed grin as he eyed them.

"Yeah, do you know where it is?" Tanz spoke up, a bit happy since he was sort of at home at the place.

"Right down yonder," The bunny pointed to his right and looked back. "Ya'll have a nice day now!"

"Thank you!" Tanz said happily as he held onto Cross's hand tighter. He was nervous that his dad was bad like the other he had to live with.

"You too!" Cross smiled back for the first time in a long time as they continued forth on their quest to reach Narnia. A number of shops and houses lowered as they made their way down a separate path to a large old country home. A few parts of it looked repainted and slowly becoming urban. But most of the land around spoke of farming and peace. The three walked up to the front door, XG at the front as he knocked.

"Jeez this is so nerve wracking." Tanz shivered as he thought about his family. What were they like? We're they the same as the others? We're they nicer? The front door opened steadily as a women peered out. Her bones were thin and curved, her cheeks hollow and defined. She looked to be in her twenties as a skeleton, but it was hard to tell with Monsters. Her eyes were bright and sparkly; both shining a bright yellow green hue. Her mouth was curved up into a soft lady like smile. Her hands were covered by green gardening gloves, a few splotches of dirt scattered here and there. She wore a yellow apron trimmed with an emerald green. Her head had hair-surprisingly. Thought was rare to find skeletons with hair, mainly the females had it. Occasionally a boy or two will have a head of hair atop his skull, but it wasn't as often as it was seen with the female skeletons. It was shades of brown and red as it was tied up in a tight bun.

"Can I help you?" She looked directly at the Gaster before her.

"Yes you can," He started. Then thought about why she wasn't freaked out over another Gaster being on her front porch. "I believe I have your son." He smiled handsomely and stepped out of the way. Tanz looked up as he let go of Cross's hand. He stepped forward shyly, but his eyes shone with tears.

"Tanz?" The woman walked forth and wrapped her thin arms around the son she'd been looking for, for so long. "Oh, my baby. My sweet, sweet baby," She backed up and held onto his face. "I missed you so much." She kissed him on the forehead and wiped tears away as she stood. "Come inside, all of you." She smiled as Tanz headed inside with Cross.

"I can explain everything later," XG said calmly to the woman. "I'm X-Tale Gaster." He reached a hand out to meet the small one before it.

"Medinza. I'm Tanz's mother, and I'm guessing that boy is your son?"

"Yes, he is. You're son's very sweet, by the way. A real kind young man he's growing up to be." He let go as they continued to stand on the porch.

"Thank you so much for bringing him back. We can talk now if you'd like. I'm a bit curious myself what's going on here. And I'd like to know what and how all of this happened." She lead him inside and closed the door. The house was very spacious. The walls painted in light shades. Windows letting in tons of light from almost every angle. It was the perfect image of a pacifist Timeline.

"It really is a beautiful Universe you have here-I mean-"

"No, no, please. It's fine to say stuff like that," Medinza walked into the kitchen and poured two glasses of freshly squeezed lemonade. Walking back over, she offered one to the visitor. "My husband used to be into things like that. After he learned about AUs and...what was it...Galegons? He just stopped. He only wanted to learn about them to understand, now? He's more into the family."

"Where is he?" XG looked at the woman from over his glass as he took a few sips from the drink.

"Oh right..." She looked down a bit sadly as memories might've filled her mind. "He's dead at the moment. Couldn't take the stress of losing a son." She shook her head.

"Wow, I'm sorry-"

"April fools!" She smiled at him as she took a gulp from her glass.

"Ha ha." XG smiled for real as he drank.

"No, he died a few years back. Completely lost it. Or, himself, rather. Him and our eldest son, Zapyruz, were both into Sci-Fi. So they wanted to see if there really were AUs like they'd thought. Turns out that there are, after their first travel resulted. They built this weird...doohickey...and ended up going out every day for three months. Of course, we still had our family time when they made it back for dinner. Over a year ago, they went out one time and didn't come back. It was after their usual arrival, so I thought that something bad had happened. My instincts were proven right. Headed to the lab, saw the machine flashing this big red emergency light, and that's when I'd decided to go in after them. But right when I was about to find the activation switch this portal appears out of the blue and out came my son."

"And your husband?" There was a moment of silence between the two.

"Never showed up. And don't be sorry, because there's only a slight chance that he's dead. I waiting for my son to get home tomorrow so we can test the thing out again." She finished off her glass and set it on the counter.

"You mean you're going back in?"

"Yeah, there's no other choice if I want him back."

"And if you don't find him?"

"Oh I will. Ashes or bone he'll be somewhere in whatever AU they'd ended up in. Zap is the only one left with all of the records him and his father had been saving. It's a lot of stuff. I wouldn't say junk though. I may not be a scientist but that doesn't mean I don't understand what science is about." She took the empty glass out of the Gaster's hand and walked back over to the sink.

"What will you do if you do? Or, if you don't?" XG continued interrogating the poor woman as he followed her to the kitchen.

"Well, if I find him, I'll slap him. But I'll also forgive him, and then things can be back to normal. If I don't, well...either I'll try to move on or find someone else." She leaned on the counter and smiled at him.

"Have anyone in mind?" Surprisingly, he blushed. He hadn't really done it before, but for some odd reason he started to like this woman.

"Not exactly. Maybe, though," She blinked at him, then straightened up and headed to a sliding glass door the along side wall. "Come with me." She smiled as she pulled it open and lead him outside. It was a bit cooler outside as they made their way through the garden trails. They came to a small patch of roses in the back.

"You're very lovely-I mean it's lovely out here. Love the flowers. Really well kept." XG tried to cover up the compliment as he pretended to gaze at the sky and admire the flowers upon the garden.

"Don't try to be sly with me. Thank you very much, by the way." She smiled kindly at him as she looked back at a few trays meant to hold flowers. A few were stacked: empty because of the dirt. Others still had a few left in which had yet to be planted.

"Sorry, I...didn't mean to say that."

"Sure you didn't," Her smile rose then fell as she looked over to the trays. "Mind helping me with these?"

"Well, I'd love to but I'm not really the gardening type." He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked down and off to the side.

"Well that's what an expert's here to do."

"The work?"

"No, to teach."

\---------------------------------------------------

Cross and Tanz walked hand in hand up the stairs within the home. Though Tanz wasn't sure his mother would approve of his homo relationship, he was sure that she would at least attempt to understand.

"I think it's this one..."Tanz lead the way as they walked up the last door on the right. It was wide open as they approached.

"Where's your brother?" Cross asked curiously as he followed close behind.

"Wh I knows...I'll have to ask mom later." Tanz mumbled as he stepped inside and looked around. There were a few posters on the right wall of the room. A few were of music artists, others were dancers. There were a few sketches on the desk before the posters. Most of them were too sloppy or far away to comprehend.

"Nice room." Cross smiled as he let go of his spouse's hand and hopped over to the bed. He jumped on top of it and say there on the edge.

"Thanks?" Tanz smiled back as he looked around a bit. After exploring the empty room, he walked back over and stood before his lover.

((Warning! Slightly too much! Making out and grinding ahead! You have been warned!))

Cross gazed up, a bit curious as to what Tanz was planning. He soon found out as the skeleton leaned down and kissed him roughly. His wrists were held onto tightly by hands that were not his own. Kiss upon rough kiss, they fought over dominance within their mouths. Tanz got closer as he pushed Cross down against the bed. Their bodies so close as they rubbed against one another.

"T-Tanz." Cross spoke between kisses as he held his lover close. They kept at it for a good five minutes, and the thought of closing the door during their kissing never came to mind. A knock tore them away from each other though. Tanz was still on top of a panting Cross as he looked back at his door.

"M-mom, I can explain." He spoke up as he fell off of his spouse and onto the floor.

"Um, hunny, if prefer it if we all talked for a moment," Medinza walked in easily as she took a seat near Tanz. The son turned around and tried to avoid eye contact, while the other skele pushed himself off the bed and sat next to Tanz. "First, I've got to ask about you two. What was that I just saw?" Her voice had a strict tone to it, but her voice was still soft.

"Mom, I've gotta tell you something...and promise not to get angry?" Tanz absent mindlessly took hold Cross's right arm and held it close to his chest. Not a beat or vibration pulsed from it as the hand lingered there. The Cross began to wonder what his father meant by Soul Pulses earlier. If there weren't any in the first place, why would he hook up an adapter?

"Of course not, I'm your mother. I'll love you no matter what." She rested her hands in her lap as she looked at the two young men. There sure were handsome, and very kindly well raised young men at that. But after what she'd just seen on that bed, she didn't know what to expect from them.

"Me and Cross here...well...we're engaged. And I'm uh...well...I'm kinda gay too." Tanz blushed from nerves and embarrassment as he took a tighter hold on his lover's arm.

"Wow, I..." Medinza whispered as she cleared her throat. "That's amazing Tanz. I just...I'm at a loss for words though. I mean of course I support you, but this just came out of the blue and I'm just so sorry for interrupting you two." She clenched her hands as she breathed slowly. It was just so hard for her to wrap her head around the thought of Tanz being engaged.

"Sorry-"

"There's no need to apologize," She spoke over Tanz's voice as she smiles weakly. Her eyes shone with tears as she gazed upon her child. "Invite me. And Cross, I want to get to know you. Maybe if you and your father want to stay we can talk." She nodded her head at them as they did to her. Then she rose to her feet and headed out of the room.

"Well, uh...wow." Cross looked over at Tanz as he blushed.

"So...wanna, get back to it?" Tanz smirked as he turned his attention to his lover's gaze.

"Seriously?"

They both laughed that day but little did they know that it wasn't the same for anyone elsewhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you might've read before the fic you can comment your favorite scene from this work and I'll comment right back.
> 
> And if you're looking for answers to questions that relate I this, I'll be glad to answer! Hope you enjoyed, and have a great day! Wait no, that sounded like I'm ending this. XD Do not fear! I shall not. YET. MWAHAHAHAHA!


	39. Should've Known

Dark blue skies, heavy, deep grey clouds. Fear left and right, hate ever where in sight. But it was just a dream, right?

Tanz's eyes flew open as he calmed his breathing. He had no idea what he'd just seen, but he was sure it was something made up. The twisted version of his brother with something a light in his mouth as he leaned creepily against a rotten spruce tree. Nothing would unsettle him more than the sight of people he knew and loved in such a dangerous position. The aura of that place, though it was just a dream was that of a genocide Timeline. Hate and ashes spread hot over a thick slice of sin. Nothing good would've come out of that experience if he hadn't woken up. Thank goodness he did though. Sitting up, he looked over to his right where a sound sleeper's chest fell and rose to the beat of a slow song. His own breathing calmed as he realized he was back at home. The bed was warm and soft, but he had to leave into the cool air. The house didn't make a single sound as he slid out of his room and out into the hall. There was no light on the second floor except for that of the moon, as ribbons of its glow swept past the curtains hanging from the window down the hall. His pace to the stairs was even as he was thankful for not having a soul. If he'd had one, it would've been pounding in his chest and he'd have been found. The stairs were set evenly so no matter the age they wouldn't creak. Phalanges wrapped lightly around the railing as they absorbed the cold at the spot. Slowly, it was dragged down and across the thin wood as light steps could be heard. The carpet on the bottom was soft and fresh as Tanz made his way to the sliding glass door. With caution, he pulled the handle to the side and slid it open with ease. Fear would've struck him if it weren't for the sight of the starry sky and bright, shining moon. He didn't want to get caught since he'd never had been before. But it was something that took bravery because his mother was that of a swan. Delicate and kind one moment, and deadly punishing the next. But that's only if it's required. He felt eyes on him as he closed the door, but as soon as it was shut tight and the lock was set in stone, the nerves melted away. Turning around, he felt the cold wind on his bones and almost shivered. Not a cloud in the deep, ocean rich sky. Nothing but a glowing rock and a million stars to light the way to the water's edge. His feet pressed into the fine gravel as he picked up his usual strolling pace. Plants and flowers bowed in the wind, making Tanz seem like a God. But he wasn't. He was just some loser who lived in his mom's house at sixteen. Just a freestyle dancer and sketchy artist. Just some kid lover and overly gay spouse. Nothing important other than a son who belonged to so many people and things that it was almost drowning him. His only freedom was the night.

Not a soul could be sensed for miles at midnight. Everyone in the AU slept. Not a single nocturnal monster existed, except for the usual Tanz. Though he loved the day, people were watching. So at night, he could be free. The wind flying past him and the light reflecting illusions. Everything was perfect at that time of day.

His left eye dimly glowed as he stopped in front of a large field. The grass was high, yet not as high as him. It stood three feet in the air in its silver beauty. Shimmering in the light from the sky as it waved in the breeze. Tanz smiled wide as he ran into the field. Skipping and giggling, he let out his inner child. He wasn't the immature type, but when someone had energy stored up meant for killing, they've oughta get rid of it somehow.

Tanz ran around for thirty minutes before he was back at the garden and panting. He skidded to a stop at the back entryway to the vast plant full space. Smiling, he walked slowly back up the path. But something caught his eye as he passed a small section of the garden. Off to his left was an open area where his mother and Cross's father sat on a stone bench. Their eye lights shone like the stars as they exchanged a quiet conversation. He couldn't believe his eyes as they leaned forward, almost in slow motion.

"Wait!-" He held a hand to his mouth as he realized what he had just done. The two looked over quickly and stood.

"I'll take care of him," Medinza walked over to Tanz and cupped his face. "What are you doing out here this late at night?"

"More like early morning." Tanz mumbled under his breath.

"Get inside." She ordered it plainly and took her hands away.

"Mom, look, you can't be with him. Cross and I are getting hooked up and you're our parents. That would be weird and incest and stuff." Tanz blurted out how he felt and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Tanz, look, we're not together. We were simply talking." XG approached the two. Worry laced his face as he thought about why Tanz would ever think up such a thing. His mother was still dedicated to Pas Gazter.

"Tanz?...what are you doing?..." Cross stumbled over as he yawned. As he fell, he fell on top of Tanz and ended up mouth to mouth with him. While Cross's eyes were shut sleepily, Tanz's were wide with shock as he blushed. XG looked away with Medinza. The two of them hiding a laugh. Tanz pushed Cross off and picked him up as he stood.

"Uh...I think we'll be going to bed. Heh." His voice was strained from the weight of his spouse as he walked to the sliding glass door ten feet away. XG and Medinza headed back to the bench and took a seat as they continued their conversation on their lives and their kids. While they talked, the clingy couple stood inside against the kitchen counter.

"Cross, I...I'm sorry about running off while you were asleep." Tanz spoke quietly as he leaned forward on the sparkling marble counter.

"It's okay. I just got a little worried is all. Next time wake me up or leave a note. Something to let me know that you're alright." Cross smiled as he leaned over the other side of the counter to meet the tip of the other skele's nose. Their eyes sparkled as they met. Then, as Cross looked closer into the set of eyes before him, he noticed something off. There was a small light in the right eye. Small and white, but there.

"What's wrong?" Tanz noticed the staring and backed up a bit.

"Uh, nothing...let's just get to bed." Tanz headed upstairs slowly and waited for Cross to follow. But all he did was look outside at the sky. All he could do was think about having a full partner. The one he had was half the real Tanz. And maybe he wanted the full package. Maybe he wanted someone like normal Tanz. The neutral. Shaking his head, he headed up after the pacifist version of what he wanted and together they went to bed.

\-----------------------------------------------

"I'm surprised he didn't like any of my other sons." Medinza laughed to herself quietly and looked up at the sky.

"Hm? You mean like Zapyruz?-"

"No. There's only one me. I'm the only version of myself you'll ever find. A rarity these days since Timelines and AUs mess with code. But I'm every Tanz's mother. Every Gazter's wife. Every Tearztale leader." Her sigh came out stressed and alone.

"That must be hard for you."

"No kidding. And it's not that I got down with all the Gazters either. These AUs of my AU just appeared out of the blue a few years back. Though to you, they appeared not too many hours ago." Her eyes glimmered as they reflected the moon and stars.

"You're surprised that Cross didn't go for Genocide Tanz?"

"Just a little. They would get along, but they have their fights. That's the whole Gen problem. He picks and chooses who he wants to treat nicely and horribly. Pas Tanz...well...he's too kind. I don't see Cross being with him. As a neutral-"

"You need a neutral." XG finished her statement as he turned away from her and looked up to admire the night.

"Huh, yeah," She smiled as she looked at him. "As a Gen you need a Gen. As a Pas, you need a Pas. But not all of us choose to those things. I'm undecided. People like to call me KrystalUnklear. Or KU for short. It's a term used for people who don't fit in those categories." She reached behind her head and undid her bun, letting her long, silky smooth hair fall down into a straight style. XG looked at her in love and admiration just as she glanced at him.

"Um, that's a very interesting term you've got. I like it."

"You mean me?" She laughed with him.

"Do you think Cross'll change his mind?" XG numbed it over. The thought of his son being with a pacifist never seemed right anyway. But if his suspicions were right about his son, then how would he break it to his former lover?

"Possibly..." Medinza agreed with his thoughts as she placed a hand on the cold stone near her lap. XG glanced down to see where her hand was placed and slowly moved one of his towards it. "I see that you know." He pulled away quickly and blushed. She just smiled at him politely. Rising to her feet she looked over the bushes to the house.

"You're tired too?" XG stood and followed her gaze.

"Yeah...come on. I'll show you where you can stay." She looked back at his hands. For some reason, that's where she looked. Nowhere but his lonely, hands. Those cold phalanges with few scars and scratches. Just the opposite of hers. Her warm, silky soft hands that she hated so much. She wondered if he hated his hands too.

"Is something wrong?" He caught her attention as he searched her for answers. Medinza had been staring at his hands for a few minutes, which had seemed strange.

"No-no. Come now." She looked up and smiled in an attempt to cover up her thoughts. The two walked away from the small area in the garden and into the house. He reminded her of a Gazter from another world. The original AU of Tearztale. XG and Gazter were alike in a lot of ways. She didn't like to think about it though. She left there for a reason. And that was to leave him. Escape her old lover forever. He used to be so kind, and then the virus came through. That stupid disease ruined everything. It was okay in the start, but half way through their research he got more and more absorbed in his work and magic that it made him mad. Besides all of the issues that were occurring, they headed inside to sleep in separate rooms, with separate thoughts.

\-------------------------------------------

"Do you have any idea how long I've been watching you sleep?" C squished a juice box in his hand as he eyed Tanz. But not the Tanz you're thinking of. This Tanz was the original. The one everyone had yet to meet.

"Where am I?" He grunted as he sat up in bed. Rubbing his eyes he looked over at the human who was laying in a relaxed fashion. Both of his irises shone and sparkled as they stared at C questioningly.

"Okay fine, ignore my question..." He sighed. "You're in an AU named X-Tale. Kinda weird, I know. You're probably really confused. But hey, that's what I'm here for apparently. To 'inform you of important facts' or whatever. My dad's a real asshole sometimes. I never get a day off it seems," He examined the box as he looked past it to a trash can not too far away. "You wanna try?" He offered the box to the skeleton and smiled as Tanz accepted the challenge.

"I'm guessing you can't shoot or something." He lined up the shot with his left hand as he effortlessly threw the box straight into the bin.

"No, nice one by the way. Could use your skill," C stood up and motioned for Tanz to follow as they headed upstairs. "Anyway, I'm gonna ask a few questions and you're going to answer 'truthfully and to the best of your ability'. As my father loves to say and put words in my mouth."

"Okay." The skele answered simply as they headed into the living room and through to the front door.

"Do you know what an AU is? A Galegon? A Gallinion? And do you know the main Universe?" C looked back as they walked outside and down a path that lead around town.

"A Galegon is Undertale, which so happens to be the name of the original Universe as it is with most other Galegons. A Gallinion holds Galegons with similar characteristics. Like Undertale and Earthbound."

"Nice response. Pretty educated as I should've guessed. Now, for some personal questions...how old are you? Can you swim? What caused your AU to crash? What's your favourite colour? Do you know where your mother is and what happened to her? Do you consider Azriel, Frizk, and Zara family? What are your thoughts on your father? And do you know Cross and/or have any memories of what has happened recently?" C took a few breaths as even he tried to rename all of the things he'd said in his mind. He then began to hope Tanz would remember all of the questions.

"First off, I'm 15. I can swim, which I don't know why you asked. My AU crashed because of me. And I'm not talking about that because it'll be too much information. My favourite colour is a neon lime green. My mom?...I thought she was dead, but I know where she is now and she left because she was sick of dad-I mean uh, my father. And the kids are definitely family to me. My dad?...I'd rather not talk too much about him. He was a great guy, used to be really sweet and caring. Then he just...the disease and research, then family...it caved in on him pretty badly. And I don't know Cross. The last thing I remember is...well...being killed in my AU, and then I was brought back. After a month of that me and my father got into a fight and he killed me. That's all I remember. And well. Everything today."

"Wow...I...didn't think you'd be able to answer every question..." C rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he stopped them before a lake. "Well, here we are."

"Is this why you asked me if I can swim?" Tanz laughed a little as he looked over the shining body of water.

"Kind of, yeah," C turned to the skeleton and thought for a moment. "You've got one hell of a rough life. But don't think that it's the worst, okay? I've seen plenty of fucked up AUs thanks to Cross. Oh, by the way, I'm C. And Cross is the Sans of this Universe. He's a bit of a jerk, but overall he's pretty good at what he does."

"I see. So he's your brother then." Tanz mumbled as his voice was muffled from his hoodie. Lifting it up and over his head, he revealed a light grey shirt and medium sized, cloud white bones. His gaze was fixed on the lake as he pulled up his shirt as well, causing C to blush and his ribs to be exposed. Setting the clothes in his hands down at the sand, he smiled.

"Y-yeah..." C rubbed his arms shyly and turned away.

"Hey, you okay?" Tanz was standing fully clothed before C. Turns out someone was having fantasies.

"Yeah! Sorry, I uh..." He coughed. "Ready to head back?" He turned around and headed down the trail, hoping the skeleton would follow, and never know the thoughts the human had.

\-----------------------------------------------

"I should've known you'd do that!" Medinza throw her fist down on the table.

"Well it's your fault you pulled that block." Tanz laughed as he pushed all of the Jenga blocks back into the middle of the table.

"You also should know that the Tanz's are being tracked by my father." Cross mumbled to himself.

"What was that?" XG looked over the table at his son and wondered explicitly what to do with him later.

"You're doing what now?" Tanz stopped smiling and looked between Cross and his father.

"Nothing. It was a joke-"

"I would know it's not because I already sensed it. You marked each of them with a false soul." Medinza teleported the game away and stared knives straight into the Gaster's pupils.

"Huh?" Tanz looked down at himself in wonder. Had he a soul? Did he even need the generator anymore?

"You're going to remove the FS's from all of the versions of my son or else I will show you what it's like to separate." Her expression was priceless as he did as he was told. The two kids just sat there in a bit of discomfort, especially Cross who didn't know all that much about Medinza and her capabilities. After a few moments of silence, XG left. And only a mother, her son, and close friend sat huddled before a table where a game once full of laughter, became the deadly game of life.


	40. ~Comagain~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~The Final Chapter~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Reality, or falsehood~  
> ~It still all happened~  
> ~Though not good~  
> ~It keeps the same end~
> 
> Keep in mind the coma may wake you again.
> 
> Also there's more depression in this chapter. Just a warning.

Flashes of blinding light that flooded the sky had a strobe light effect on the AU below. Dark grey, almost black, stormy clouds filled the sky ever so quickly. Great winds blew fast through the air as they quickly picked up speed. Branches from every tree were bending at violent angles. Leaves whipped around in a funnel figure not too far from town. The tornado was strong, and the strongest yet to ever had happened in history.

\-------------------------------------

"So...all we can do is stand here and wait to see if my lover drops dead?!" Cross screamed at Gazter as he held back his tears. He didn't want to loose Tanz. That pacifist face, that ever-shifting smile. He couldn't hold himself upright if he even thought about losing him. That's why he was leaning against his father.

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Gazter held his hands simply before him. He acted like he didn't care. As if he could start over. He wouldn't have bones though. Just ashes. Just little remnants of a once caring soul.

"You're **evil**." Cross scolded the man as he held onto his father tightly.

"Don't worry. There is another way to fix this." Medinza motioned for everyone to follow as they headed to the back of the laboratory. The room they entered was a bit small and full of files and books. There was a desk against the wall with a lamp and a few papers labelled AAUs.

"That's how you left." Gazter mumbled as he read over the papers.

"I'm surprised you wouldn't think that I would run away. You clod," She smiled a bit as her husband did the same. Turns out they really did miss one another's company. "Here we go." A book by the name of Soul Recreation and Temporary Soul Revival was held before the small circle.

"Is that really gonna help?" Genocide Tanz smirked quizzically as he examined the old piece of work.

"Can we at least hope it will?" Pacifist Tanz stood next to his opposite. Their middle part stood in the back of the group shyly. He was hoping that his pain would end. And quick. But his mother wanted just the opposite.

\-------------------------------------

"How is she?" A rough voice called. It was scratchy and low in tone. It almost made the skeleton laying on the old leather feel uncomfortable.

"I don't know Sans. Why don't you ask her?" Another voice spoke, both were male. This one sounded edgy and scratchier. As if someone took a cheese grater to their vocal chords.

"Fine. I will then," The first voice spoke again, now the skele noticed a slight lisp in their speech. "Hey, you awake?" A bony hand rested on the skele's forearm with a bit of worried pressure.

"Huh?..." Tanz opened his eyes, his vision blurry as he tried to focus on the person sitting beside him.

"Oh good. We were worried there for a se-"

"YOU were worried, Sans. Not me. I couldn't give a care in the world about her condition." It was Red and Edge. Of course. That should've been obvious to him. Wait...were they referring to him as a **she**?

"Uh...I'm a...guy..." Tanz sat up slowly and rubbed his head. How did he get there? Why was he there? What happened?

"Oh, uh. Sorry." Red cleared his throat with a light cough off to the side. When he turned his head back he noticed the different irises Tanz had and wondered where he was from.

"I'm Tanz by the way..."

"Oh you're an AU Sans. Got it. We get a few of those a week. Accidents happen all the time it seems. The name's Red, and this is my-"

"I can introduce myself thank you," Edge walked over a bit peeved at the situation. "You can call me Edge. But you don't want to. Because if I hear my name once from your small pansy mouth I'll-"

"Okay okay Boss. I think he gets the idea. You're a gangster."

"Why thank you," Edge bowed a bit. " Now if you need me-which you won't-I'll be around. Don't come looking for me."

"Okay then?" Tanz held his hands in his lap as he looked over at the skele beside him. "So..."

"Welcome to a false reality?" Red shrugged as he moved to sit up against the skele. "Anyway...if ya got any questions, I can only answer a few. Cause tibia honest, ya kinda just appeared in the woods while I happened to walk by. Consider yourself lucky that no one else found ya out there. They woulda thought you were me. And when I'm out alone, heh. Well...that's a story for another time."

"So...I appeared in the woods?"

"Eyup. And notta single injury eitha." Red looked back at Tanz and smirked with his shark tooth grin. His gold canine glistening in the low light.

"Do you think I can get going? I know how-"

"Buddy...you might not have any physical injuries. But yer health is below mine. And that's pretty far fetched. I mean, kid, point 2? What kinda shit you been through?"

"Point...two?" Tanz read over his health with fear as he attempted to remember what happened.

 

Hospital beds

Worried friends and family

Blurry vision

Doctors trying to help

 

But what did it all mean? Cross was in the picture, his brother and adoptive siblings were there, his mom and dad, Ink, ERROR, Dream, Nightmare, Blueberry...everyone was so sad. There were tears...

No...

 

There **are** tearz.

 

His vision is blurry and smeared as he blinks slowly. His head pounds with a thousand drums. His hands are cold and there's a needle in his arm. This whole time people have been left to figure out what's real and what's not.

"Tanz!"

His hearing is muffled as his vision clears. He can see Cross running towards him from across the room. It's a small room. White walls. A pretty curtain off to the left. Oh good, he can move. Or...you, rather.

"Tanz I missed you so much. Thank goodness you're awake. I was beginning to think that they'd have to pull the plug. You were out for years and our money and love were the only things keeping the hospital...oh Tanz!" Millions of violet tears soak through your gown as you can finally feel everything. All of your senses returned and you're smiling. Smiling and crying. You want to speak. To say that you love him. But you can't Suddenly you can't breathe. You're being choked. Your eyes go dark again. But then there's light. The IDMR...but why? Weren't you just awake and alive?

 

"Everything was fine until you came along!" Ink screamed at ERROR as he turned away. His eyes were teardrops as he cried. But the moment he looked up, he knew. Running over to Tanz, he smiled.

"ERROR I'm sorry! I'm so sorry-I thought you took him. But he's here!" He smiled brightly as he hugged Tanz close to his chest. His warm ribs. There was no beat though........

 

"I...Ink?" Tanz spurted out.

"What is it?" Ink looked down, happy to help.

"You...don't have a...soul..."

"Yeah...I don't."

"Can you walk?" Dream ran over and lifted Tanz away from the dusted skele. But Ink was right there?!

"Yeah, why? What's going on?" Tanz grabbed hold of Dream and looked him in the eyes.

"You've been asleep for too long. You've gotta wake up. And there's only one way to do it, so come on!" He tightly grasped one of the other skeleton's hands and ran with him. Down halls, through portals, they travelled until they came upon a far room.

"Where are we going?" Tanz slowed behind the smaller Sans in worry. Dream stopped and looked back.

"There's only one way to wake you up Tanz. I can explain more when we're back in reality, okay?" Dream latched onto Tanz's arm one last time as he dragged him through a portal on the far wall. They walked out into a dark cave. It smelled of mold and rotting things, and the air was thick with dark magic and energy. Dream fell over to the side, he was coughing and holding his chest as he heaved for air. The negativity being too much for him to handle.

"Hey! Are you okay?" Tanz rushed to the smol's side and lifted him into his lap. "I'm gonna get you out of here. Don't worry." He stood, Dream in his arms. But as he turned to go back, the portal had closed and a dark figure lurked in the shadows.

"Worthless and pathetic...both of you actually." A deep voice echoed around the cave. It bellowed out from the figure like an ocean being released from a damn.

"Who are you?" Tanz called out painfully. He didn't need anyone getting killed on his watch.

"It's Terror...there's no stopping him..." Dream coughed as he was set on the ground. "Let me be..." He leaned back against the cold stone floor. His eyes shut in pain.

"Your brother?"

"That's right Tanzy. Now, there's only one way to make somebody wake up from a deep sleep like the one you're in. Scare them. Yes, this is the only way. This is also the perfect time to get rid of my worthless brother. Prince of positive feelings. Hah! As if they were ever truly going to last-"

"But don't you need them?" Tanz put a shield around Dream to keep the negativity out.

"Hm?" Terror walked forth and faced the skele.

"You need positive feelings in order to feel satisfaction from killing or hurting others, don't you?" They stood in silence.

"You're not wrong. But-"

"In order to feel the pain you must've been happy first. Otherwise, you wouldn't know the difference if any at all." Tanz stood up a bit taller.

"Well still...you need to wake up. Sure Dream will be fine, but, we need you out first."

"You want me to leave my own head?"

"No. Just wake up. That's the whole point of Dream dragging your dumb butt over here."

"I'm not dumb." Tanz stood defensively.

"You were dumb enough to think that jumping into a crashing void like AU was a good idea. Sure you saved my butt. That doesn't matter-"

"Wait...I remember that..." Tanz thought back to a few months ago when he was awake and not in the mad dream realm. Inktale was failing to respond due to a malfunction in transferring new lines of code to a data base in the IDMR. He went in to get Nightmare out. He was helping Inkriel out from a glitch's wrath.

"Now, wake up." Nightmare threw a bucket full of a strange dark red liquid at Tanz. He was drowning, and the flow never stopped. The iron smelling liquid flowed into all of the holes within the skeleton's body, causing him to cry out in pain.

But nobody came.

"Gah!" Tanz shot up from the hospital bed. Swear poured from his skull as gasped for air for a few moments. He wiped his head around to search for Nightmare.

But nobody was there.

He sighed thankfully and laid back down. He watched as the heart monitor off to his right was going crazy, but it soon slowed the more he relaxed. The room smelled clean, like that hospital smell. And the sheets smelled like flowers as if just washed. He raised a hand to his forehead to wipe some sweat away. There was a needle stabbed in his ulna that had a tube running to a bag on a hook to his right. He grimaced at it. But after the sudden flood of energy had reached him, he had felt very tired. Yawning, he placed his hands on his chest and drifted off to sleep.

\------------------------

"I know what caused this-"

"You don't understand, he's still not awake and is in no condition to have a conversation-"

A man was arguing with a woman near the door to Tanz's room. The girl sounded to be a nurse or doctor, as the male was unplaceable as to who he was.

"His heart rate is at the normal rate for someone who is sleeping so don't tell me that he's still in a coma. You can stay out here in the hall while I talk to him, or you can risk losing your job. Got that?"

"Y-yes sir."

The girl scurried off down the halls as the man entered the room and closed the door. Tanz shifted a bit as he opened his eyes slowly. He turned his head to the right where his father Gazter-

Stands.

Tanz's eyes shrink a bit, in worry that his father night backhand him. But the hit never comes.

"Tanz..." Gazter leans his arms on the bed as he squats down beside it. His eye sockets bear tears as he glances down with a shaky breath. "I...I am _so_ sorry for everything you've been through...it's my fault for getting so absorbed in my work. I-"

"If you weren't ready for kids...why did you have me and Zapy?" Tanz's eyes also have tears in them as he grips the soft green fabric of his hospital gown. "If you knew you weren't ready for a family, why did you-"

"I _was_ ready for a family...I just...I fucked it up Tanz...my head wound up in the clouds again after a while, your mother warned me about it happening, and I just lost myself to science. Before you were born my department had created a serum. We called it the Z Virus. It was locked up in storage for the longest time, until...until one day it broke."

"Things don't just break, Gazter-"

"I'm still talking," The scientist's snaps back after Tanz raised his voice, and sighs again after feeling bad for doing so. "This....this 'Virus', could change everyone's fate. It altered the chemicals within Monsters and Humans to strange points where illness could occur. On the bright side, certain blood lines of Monsters and Humans could live on and be more powerful than they once were."

"How'd it break?" Tanz speaks softly as he stops gripping his gown. His eyes let a few tears stream down as he allows himself to go weak for the time being.

"I was heading to the lab one night and when I got there we were supposed to extract a very small amount of the serum to test on a small animal we had generated. Everything went according to plan until the serum stopped responding to our commands to stop extracting. The animal soon died quickly after from an overdose of the serum and it went airborne...I was the only one to make it out of that lab other than my old assistant Alphyz. She too was out of there as I was...but...even though our lab was securely sealed, the serum found its way out and spread all across the AU. I was affected once I got home where you, your brother, and your mother were affected. We lived with it for years. It seeming not to affect us until the effects got to all of us. It made you and your brother sick and you mother very week. I on the other hand...my set of genes came from a high blood line. So I got strength and knowledge from the Virus. I went back to my lab and tried everything to come up with an antidote."

"And you did...but after curing us there were more people who got sick...you and mom wanted to help but someone had broken into your lab to cure themselves..."

"And they did. Zoriel was greedy and she was always suspicious of my work. She knew that I'd come up with something if my whole family ended up fine after the epidemic. So she made enough of the cure for herself and made another batch for her husband."

"But the kind ended up twisted and monstrous after the 'cure' was downed by him."

"Zoriel laced it with something...but she tried to ignore the comments I have her and questions I shot at her. Look Tanz, this is all my fault. I got power hungry and I was so obsessed with science and the urge to recreate that cure and save everyone-that the day that your mother was killed in battle-the day you and your brother suffered major injuries after the humans fought is Monsters-"

"I get it, Dad...I'm sorry too. I should've thought about what you've been through..." Tanz sat up and wrapped his arms around Gazter. "I love you..."

"I love you too."

\--------------------

((Warning. Grinding ahead. I will put {} around the parts that you should skip if you do not want to read that. Thank you.))

Gazter left a few hours after Tanz woke up. The moment he opened the door though, Cross raced to his lover on light feet and hopped onto the bed.

"Tanz!! Oh, Tanz! You're back thank goodness!" He smiles and kisses Tanz over and over all over his skull. Peppering him with kisses until he's out of breath from all of the work. Tanz laughs a bit as he looks up at the skele in his lap and hugs Cross close.

"It's good to see you too. Hehe." Tanz smiles as he places a kiss on Cross' chin.

"Oh stars I love you so much," Cross wraps his arms around Tanz. { "I've been so lonely without you. Hehe. If you know what I mean." Cross but his bottom lip as he ground a bit on Tanz's lap. Tanz let out soft moans as he looked up a bit pained. }

"Oh, sorry!" He lets go of Tanz and sighs. "I uh, didn't mean to hurt you. I've just missed you so much, and I love you." Cross blushes as he held his hands in his lap awkwardly.

"It's okay. I'm still just a little sore after spending a good part of my life in this bed. Heh. And," He brings Cross' face to his. "I love you too." He kisses Cross before a knock sounds on the door.

"Oh, uh, I should get going. I'll see you later, okay?" Cross kisses Tanz one more time before getting up and hopping down to open the door and slip past the person on the other side, or rather...people.

"Tanz oh thank goodness you're back. When I got the news I rushed here as quick as possible." Nightmare speaks quickly as he walks in first to stand on the right of Tanz.

"Am I talking to Nightmare?" Tanz giggles as his blush lingers in his cheeks lightly.

"I'm happy too!!!" Dream runs in and kisses Tanz on the forehead from the left side of the bed.

"Uh, me too? I guess?" Terror stands by the door quietly as he kicks at the ground with his slipper.

"I don't want to worry you with any duties at the moment, but I am glad to announce that the Galegon wants you to protect kids all over," Nightmare smiles a bit as he heads to the door. "Also I just remembered I left the stove on so-bye!" He teleports away with a quiet blip as Dream squeezes Tanz's hand.

"It's great to see that you made it out. Most people aren't as determined as you to escape a coma as strong as that one," Dream's eyes softened. "And you and Cross are really cute together. I'm glad you guys are happy." He smiles as he lets go of Tanz's hand.

"Thank you, Dream." Tanz returns the smile as the small skeleton teleports away. Terror continues to stand by the door as he clears his throat. Finally, he approaches the bed and stands on the right side and looks down at Tanz.

"Uh, sorry for being such a jerk to you..." Terror spoke softly as he took a seat on the bed beside the tried skeleton. "I get it if you hate me-"

"I don't hate you," Tanz interrupts Terror. "I just...Look I've just got a lot on my mind. I can't tell what was real or what was the dream I was stuck in.." He rubs his pounding head. A migraine was just starting to form as Terror got closer to the teen skele.

"I'm not usually nice I people, but I'm gonna tell you this right now..."

"Why do you trus-"

"I'm the one that crashed Inktale so that people would die. So that **you** would die. Yes I still have feelings for Cross, and no, I'm not pulling your leg," He stands and walks briskly over to Tanz's IV. "Look I'm sorry, but nothing, and no one is going to stand in my way of him."

"Wait, what are you doing?! Help!" Tanz cries out as he attempts to get up and push Terror out of the way, but the sudden movement made his pain worse and caused him to fall off of the bed.

"Sorry buddy, but nobody is gonna come for you." He grins wickedly and turns the meter up on his IV. More liquid floods through the tube from the bag, and into Tanz's arm.

"Terror! Stop!" Dream's back and outside of the room. His fists banging against the door violently as tears race down his cheeks. Others stand outside of the room, unable to get inside since there's a magic block on the area.

"See ya sucker!-" Terror gets knocked to the ground by Cross.

"Not today asshole!" He growls and holds Terror's hands behind his back.

Gazter breaks the door down with the help of Xtale Gaster, which lets in Zapyruz and a few others.

"Tanz?" His older brother rushes to his side and holds Tanz in his lap.

"Zap...I...tell everyone...I...tell them that..." Tanz cries as he could no longer breathe. His pupils wide with fear, his hands losing heir grip. But suddenly he just smiles. "I love you." His last words tremble as everyone goes quiet. The heart monitor let out a long beep before someone shuts it off.

And that's the last noise in that room.

Those are the few people that got to see the end of someone's life.

But a life that had no purpose but served its rights at the same time.

And if only this weren't the end.

Here are some quotes from my sister...

"About time it's finished."  
"Took you long enough."  
"Why didn't you put my AU in it?"  
"Those errors though..."  
"Are you gonna keep going?"  
"Why'd you end it here?"  
"Can I ship Terror x Tanz? I can call it Teranz."

The answer is no first of all, and second of all thank you all for your support and love and I hope to see you in the next story!

PEACE!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may say I'm sorry, but I'm not when I say sorry that this was the end.

**Author's Note:**

> All people welcome to judge, talk, and...idk...I'm bad at this. XD


End file.
